The Pentagon and the Bush administration are planning a new disinformation and propaganda campaign because of concerns that they are ‘losing the information war’ abroad. In other words, the idea that some people do not support their plans to be the fourth reich is really annoying the American war machine. In their thinking, anyone who doesn’t support war hasn’t been manipulated or lied to enough. It is galling that they feel they can be so open and frank about their plans to purposefully mislead and deceive people around the world. They seem to be under the impression that they can do anything regardless of any moral, ethical considerations. The US government is officially barred from planting domestic propaganda and lies, but this rule has been violated repeatedly in recent history. The new initiative is to be spearheaded by the obliquely named Office of Strategic Influence.
According to the New York Times, �one of the military units assigned to carry out the policies of the Office of Strategic Influence� is the U.S. Army�s Psychological Operations Command (PSYOPS). The Times doesn�t mention, however, that PSYOPS has been accused of operating domestically as recently as the Kosovo war.
In February 2000, reports in Dutch and French newspapers revealed that several officers from the 4th PSYOPS Group had worked in the news division at CNN’s Atlanta headquarters as part of an �internship� program starting in the final days of the Kosovo War. Coverage of this disturbing story was scarce (see FAIR�s �Why Were Government Propaganda Experts Working on News at CNN?� 3/27/00), but after FAIR issued an Action Alert on the story, CNN stated that it had already terminated the program and acknowledged that it was �inappropriate.�
Even if the PSYOPS officers working in the newsroom did not directly influence news reporting, the question remains of whether CNN may have allowed the military to conduct an intelligence-gathering mission against the network itself. The idea isn�t far-fetched– according to Intelligence Newsletter (2/17/00), a rear admiral from the Special Operations Command told a PSYOPS conference that the military needed to find ways to “gain control” over commercial news satellites to help bring down an “informational cone of silence” over regions where special operations were taking place. One of CNN�s PSYOPS �interns� worked in the network�s satellite division. (During the Afghanistan war the Pentagon found a very direct way to �gain control�– it simply bought up all commercial satellite images of Afghanistan, in order to prevent media from accessing them.)
It�s worth noting that the 4th PSYOPS group is the same group that staffed the National Security Council’s now notorious Office of Public Diplomacy (OPD), which planted stories in the U.S. media supporting the Reagan Administration’s Central America policies during the 1980s. Described by a senior U.S. official as a “vast psychological warfare operation of the kind the military conducts to influence a population in enemy territory” (Miami Herald, 7/19/87), the OPD was shut down after the Iran-Contra investigations, but not before influencing coverage in major outlets including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post (Extra!, 9-10/01).
It is a bad omen that our government has demonstrated a hatred for American ideals. This has been particularly true lately. Recently John Ashcroft instructed the Justice Department to refuse Freedom of Information Act requests and the government has been removing public scrutiny across the board. Just the other day, Donald Rumsfeld cut government oversight over the agency in charge of missile defense. This comes at a time when the Pentagon has admitted to somehow misplacing 2.3 trillion dollars and when nearly all of the missile defense tests have failed. In the only test that was successful the target missile was equipped with a GPS homing beacon. This is a little like hunting down a cow with a bell tied around its neck.
Already the propaganda machine has kicked into high-gear. In order to silence widespread disgust with the new plans the Bush administration has moved to ‘clarify’ their position.
Responding to questions about the new office today, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld said: “What people have to understand about this is very clear: number one, government officials, the Department of Defense, this secretary and the people that work with me tell the American people and the people of the world the truth.”
What he doesn’t tell you is that the government will be lying to the American people and the world by hiring public relations firms like the Rendon Group and other surrogates to spread their lies. So, while technically the government may try to restrain themselves from outright lies they will pay other parties to lie for them. The whole business is shameful.
- Euros Want To Spy On Worldwide Communications
- The Pentagon helps ABC produce areality series on the ‘war against terror’
- According to van Munster, vice president Dick Cheney and defense chief Donald Rumsfeld signed off on the project without reservation.
“They haven’t given me any restrictions as of yet; they’re very enthusiastic about the thing,” van Munster said. “Obviously we’re going to have a pro-military, pro-American stance. We’re not going to criticize.”
This is just more propaganda garbage for public consumption lovingly crafted by the corporate media in cahoots with Big Brother. As Bill Hicks would say, ‘Go back to sleep America.’
- Striking Saddam: Some Stocks Will Soar Isn’t it a dangerous thing to have some much money at stake when waging war? Should private industry be allowed to get hooked on war profits? How do you know when you’re not just fighting so you can spend money?
- The FBI is protecting the Anthrax terrorist I was wondering why the anthrax fear wasn’t being whipped up by the media any longer.
- Supreme Court to Intervene in Internet Copyright Dispute I’m hopeful about this. I hope it’s not further disappointment.