Hi Vince,

Quote Originally Posted by VinceC View Post
This is an intriguing idea. But it implies someone with a deep understanding and strategic sense of Information Operations.
Why would you make that assumption? An a**-covering bureaucrat doesn't have to be intelligent when they are merely applying bureaucratic scripts that have worked in the past and are in "the book". Personally, I find it far more likely that the "philosophy" behind this action is a knee-jerk reaction.

WM notes that:

The critical factor that I think that needs emphasizing is that we cannot really decide which risks to accept, which to avoid, and which to mitigate unless we fully understand what those risks are. We tend to fear (that is be risk averse to) that about which we know the least. (Am I right here, MarcT?) As an aside, I also think that we tend to try to regulate away the risks about which we know the least.
and I think the key, in this case, is the level of institutional "fear" of that which cannot be controlled couple with the occupational fear of those who are responsible for controlling it (based on old technologies). I think we should be guided by the words of that great sage Anonymous:

Never ascribe to malice what can be ascribed to stupidity
Marc