The Psychological Effect of the Ghassam Missiles on the Residents of the Zionist Settlements Abdo-Rreza Hamedani The military doctrine and the psychological operations of Hamas were based on a war of attrition and use of Ghassam missiles. This doctrine aimed at weakening the military and non-military resolution and the war impetus of the Zionist regime by inflicting perpetual casualties on it. This was a realistic doctrine, for there is ample evidence of exhaustion and loss of patience in the Zionist community. Hamas is following an objective to which the Zionist regime is radically sensitive – sensitivity along with the fear of losing the Zionist soldiers in the occupied territories. Hamas"s main military tactic is to make sporadic attacks, carry out martyrdom operations, and launch Gassam missiles. This scheme has inflicted the heaviest physical and psychological losses on the Zionist military. Our aim here is to study and examine the social and psychological consequences of attacking the Zionist settlements by Ghassam missiles and the way this attempt has affected the national and international policies of the Zionist regime. Key Words: Ghassam missile, psychological effects, Zionist civiliansThe Theoretical and Practical Foundations of an Effective and Efficient Medium Mohammad Hussein Elyasi During the past half a century, the theorists and scholars working in the field of mass communication media have attempted to develop and utilize some principles in order to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the media. Formulation of some theories and theoretical models in the field of mass communications and the psychology of the listener and accumulation of a large mass of research work in this field have been the outcome of these attempts. Both the functions of the mass media and their extent of effectiveness have been systematically and scientifically discussed and pondered upon in each of these theories and models. Using the foundations of these theoretical models, researchers have formulated certain principles and rules the use of which can enhance the effectiveness of a medium in manipulating the minds of the listeners, changing their life style, and modifying and changing their different actions. Key Words: effective medium, persuasion, news engineering, injection needle theory The public Opinion on the 33-day Battle in Lebanon: How it was Formed and Transformed Ahmad Baseri To pass on its clear stance to the people of the region and the world, Hezbollah founded Al-Menar Broadcasting Network, Annoor Radio, the Al-Ahd Weekly, etc. The media force of Hezbollah has greatly influenced the public opinion of the region, the Arab world, and even some statesmen of the Zionist regime. On the pretext of the captivity of two Israeli soldiers, but in fact with the objective of disarming the Islamic resistance movement and disturbing Hezbollah’s military array and restoring its perished power following the retreat in 2000, the Zionist regime attacked the defenseless people of Lebanon with all its strength. During these attacks, the psychological operations specialists of this regime tried their best to rationalize and legitimize this war. They also attempted to have the course of this war be so pictured that the Zionist regime may take on the role of the party which is fighting reluctantly. In this psychological war, the propaganda system of the US and the Zionist regime were trying to question the legitimacy of the Islamic resistance, to turn the public opinion away from supporting Hezbollah, and to pave the way for bringing pressure upon the Islamic Republic of Iran; and they were partially successful in accomplishing all this during the first few days of the 33-day battle. Nevertheless, Hezbollah could change the political and psychological atmosphere in its own interest thanks to its people-oriented strategy and by making use of media warfare, and broadcasting the influential speeches of its director general, Seyyed Hassan Nasrollah, through Al-Menar, Al-Arabyyah, and Al-Jazirah TV networks, so that after the first few days of the battle the Lebanese unanimously supported Hezbollah. This fact was even reported by all the US mass media. This paper attempts to probe into the process of the public opinion formation on the two sides of the fight during the 33-day battle. Key Words: the 33-day battle, Lebanon, public opinion, psychological operations, Hezbollah Rumor: An Effective Method in Psychological Operations Brigadier General Ahmad-Reza Radan A rumor is a statement the source of which is unreliable. Hence, it is often difficult or impossible to find its origin. In spite of this, sometimes the influence of a rumor is greater and even wider than that of the official media. Rumors created by the agents of psychological operations by making use of techniques and tactics such as ‘vaporization tactic’ are often circulated in dull environments. In such an atmosphere, the thirst of people for gaining information is so strong that they consider the unreal, unreliable statements and even lies as reality. Sometimes a rumor is converted into a medium competing with the official media. The significant role of rumor has made the agents of psychological operations utilize it as an instrument and a method to ruin the morale of the opponent, to agitate the masses, and to fulfill some other objectives. Key Words: rumor, unreliable medium, convincing, ruining the morale, crisis The Role of Metaphor in the Political Discourse of War Seyyed Hussein Mohammadi Najm Although the importance of metaphor in the current political rhetorics is undeniable, its application has always been disputed. Philosophers mainly believe metaphor and other rhetorical figures can mislead us in understanding objects. For instance, although Aristotle believes dexterity of a poet in making use of metaphor is the best he can offer to his readers, he admits that metaphor is dangerous, since it can represent something better or worse than it really is. Plato, who finally became a political philosopher and deeply influenced political philosophy, also expressed most of his recommendations about establishing and managing the ideal political administration in figurative language. It is noteworthy that the philosophy of the West has always taken Plato’s insistence on excluding poets from the Utopia for his criticism of metaphor and it has taken Plato’s distrust of imitation and simulation (literary figures) as a justification for this interpretation. This attitude has been so influential that after two thousand years, following the so-called Platonic tradition, Hobbes pointed out that metaphor refers to making use of words in an unusual way for the purpose of deceiving people. In spite of such a wave of opposition to metaphor, cognitivists have challenged philosophers’ distrust of metaphor during the past few decades and argued that our understanding of the reality is based on metaphor. Their belief is that our life is all associated with metaphors (the cognitive structure within which we live) and undoubtedly they play a significant role in shaping philosophy and every day conceptions. Key Words: metaphor, war, political discourse Cultural Nato: Its Functions and Confrontation Strategies Ali-Mohmmad Naeeni Cultural Nato is a conception raised by the Supreme Leader, the Grand Ayatollah Khamanei, in the meeting of the university students and professors of Semnan province during his 2000 provincial trip to this province. This notion was pointed out under the title of ‘transformation in the Nato functions and strategy’ for the attention and vigilance of the elite in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the world of Islam. How the military-security function of Nato as the most significant military structure of the West in Europe aimed at restraining the ex-Soviet Union after the World War II transformed into a cultural one, the functions of cultural Nato in the security atmosphere after the Cold War, particularly in the world of Islam, and the necessary strategies needed to confront the cultural Nato are the topics tackled in this paper. Key Words: Nato, cultural Nato, Cold War, soft war, globalization of culture, post-neocolonization Dimensions of the Psychological Operations of the West against the Islamic Republic of Iran Sajjad Karimi Kashani Terrorism is a pretext for the great powers’ warmongering at the present century although the very idea of fighting terrorism and terrorist groups within the framework of national security provision is rightly justified; but the super powers’ strategy aimed at neo-expansionism is hidden from view by the news agencies’ media projection and distortion of the facts. Since the Islamic Republic of Iran is accused of supporting terrorism and the terrorist groups, and this issue is heavily propagated, the question tackled in this paper is: What are the dimensions of the US psychological war of terrorism against Iran, and which factors have caused Iran to be called terrorist? It seems that the aim of the US in starting this psychological war against Iran is to overshadow the public opinion of the world population, to make the worldwide influence of Iran less effective, and ultimately isolate Iran; and issues such as export of the Islamic Revolution, taking hostages in the spying lair, supporting the Islamic movements, and attempts to gain access to peaceful nuclear energy are employed to serve this policy. This paper tackles the nature of the psychological war of terrorism against the Islamic Republic of Iran noting that if such untrue propaganda is not dealt with properly, while having politically, economically, and culturally bad consequences, it may serve as an excuse for the enemies’ future measures. Key Words: psychological war, terrorism, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the United States, projection