Propagandists
The New York Times exposed a secret Pentagon campaign to infiltrate the media with pro-war propaganda.
The scheme reaches all the way to the White House, where top officials recruited dozens of “military analysts” to spread favorable views of the war via every major news channel, without revealing that they were working from Pentagon scripts. Some were also paid lobbyist for major military contractors. Congress should investigate these military “analysts” and their ties to the Bush regime, defense contractors and our national news media.
The more than 75 analysts exposed by the New York Times have become fixtures of war coverage on CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. The article reveals the many ways the Pentagon fed them pro-war talking points and misinformation. The White House name for these covert propagandists was “message force multipliers.”
The message force multipliers used their access to the media and the White House to secure high-paying jobs as lobbyists and consultants. Then competed for hundreds of billions of dollars in military business generated by the war
Message force multipliers are the reason Americans are unaware that the apparent success in Anbar province is not the positive situation it has been purported to be. Violence has declined as local Sunni sheiks began to cooperate with our forces, but the surge tactic cannot be given full credit. Initially, Saddam Hussein’s Sunnis had welcomed anyone who would help them kill Americans, including al Qaeda. However, the decline in violence started, when the Sunnis recognized their financial plight and became angry with al Qaeda operatives. Our new Sunni friends insist on being paid for their loyalty.
Former Director of the National Security Agency, retired Army Lieutenant General William Odom has too much integrity to be a Pentagon propagandist. On 4/2/08, he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that he had learned of an estimate cost of $250,000 per day being paid to ensure the cooperation of Sunni sheiks for an area of about 100 square kilometers. Periodically, they threaten to defect unless their fees are increased. Odom insists that; "We do not own the Sunnis. We rent them and they can break the lease at any moment. This deal protects them from the Iraqi government’s forces, which is hardly a sign of political reconciliation."
The concern we hear from McCain regarding a resurgent of al Qaeda if we withdraw is utter nonsense. The Sunnis would quickly destroy al Qaeda if we leave Iraq.
The scheme reaches all the way to the White House, where top officials recruited dozens of “military analysts” to spread favorable views of the war via every major news channel, without revealing that they were working from Pentagon scripts. Some were also paid lobbyist for major military contractors. Congress should investigate these military “analysts” and their ties to the Bush regime, defense contractors and our national news media.
The more than 75 analysts exposed by the New York Times have become fixtures of war coverage on CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. The article reveals the many ways the Pentagon fed them pro-war talking points and misinformation. The White House name for these covert propagandists was “message force multipliers.”
The message force multipliers used their access to the media and the White House to secure high-paying jobs as lobbyists and consultants. Then competed for hundreds of billions of dollars in military business generated by the war
Message force multipliers are the reason Americans are unaware that the apparent success in Anbar province is not the positive situation it has been purported to be. Violence has declined as local Sunni sheiks began to cooperate with our forces, but the surge tactic cannot be given full credit. Initially, Saddam Hussein’s Sunnis had welcomed anyone who would help them kill Americans, including al Qaeda. However, the decline in violence started, when the Sunnis recognized their financial plight and became angry with al Qaeda operatives. Our new Sunni friends insist on being paid for their loyalty.
Former Director of the National Security Agency, retired Army Lieutenant General William Odom has too much integrity to be a Pentagon propagandist. On 4/2/08, he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that he had learned of an estimate cost of $250,000 per day being paid to ensure the cooperation of Sunni sheiks for an area of about 100 square kilometers. Periodically, they threaten to defect unless their fees are increased. Odom insists that; "We do not own the Sunnis. We rent them and they can break the lease at any moment. This deal protects them from the Iraqi government’s forces, which is hardly a sign of political reconciliation."
The concern we hear from McCain regarding a resurgent of al Qaeda if we withdraw is utter nonsense. The Sunnis would quickly destroy al Qaeda if we leave Iraq.
posted by Jim O'Leary | 1:22 AM
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