105 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 22 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 1/4/12

Rumsfeld-Era Propaganda Program Whitewashed by Pentagon

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   2 comments
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Cyril Mychalejko
Source: Toward Freedom

A controversial public relations program run by former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's Pentagon was cleared of any wrong-doing by the agency's inspector general in a report published in November. The program used dozens of retired military officers working as analysts on television and radio networks as "surrogates" armed by the Pentagon with "the facts" in order to educate the public about the Department of Defense's operations and agenda.

At the same time, the report quoted participating analysts who believed that bullet points provided by Rumsfeld's staff advanced a "political agenda," that the program's intent "...was to move everyone's mouth on TV as a sock puppet" and that the program was "...a white-level psyop [psychological operations] program to the American people." It also found a "preponderance of evidence" that one analyst was dismissed from the program for being critical of former Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, while another analyst said a CNN official told him he was being dropped at the request of the White House.

 

Nevertheless, the inspector general exonerated the Pentagon, stating that it complied with Department of Defense (DoD) policies and regulations, including not using propaganda on the US public, while also claiming that retired military analysts, many of whom were affiliated with defense contractors, gained nothing financially or personally for the businesses they were affiliated with.

The investigation was requested by Congress after the New York Times published a story revealing the Pentagon's public relations program, "Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon's Hidden Hand" (04/20/2008), which was subsequently awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting . The article showed how these analysts, many of whom had ties to military contractors, were used to help sell the war in Iraq, to push other Bush Administration foreign policy "themes and messages" and to act as a rapid response team to counter criticisms in the media. One official Department of Defense talking points document released while the Bush Administration was still trying to sell the need for a war with Iraq to the public states, "We know that Saddam has weapons of mass destruction."

According to the media watchdog Media Matters, between January 1, 2002 and May 2008 the analysts exposed in the Times article "collectively appeared or were quoted as experts more than 4,500 times on ABC, ABC News Now, CBS, CBS Radio Network, NBC, CNN, CNN Headline News, Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, and NPR," revealing the success and scope of Rumsfeld's program. However, as Glen Greenwald pointed out, that figure is actually low because there were many more analysts that the Pentagon was using who weren't mentioned in the article.

The inspector general issued an initial report in January 2009 which drew the same conclusions, but which was later recanted because "it was so riddled with inaccuracies and flaws that none of its conclusions could be relied upon." This calls into question how forthright, accurate and independent an internal Pentagon audit can be, especially in light of the fact that even Republican Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) recently "blasted" the inspector general's work--giving the office a grade of D-minus in a June 1 report.

 

This updated report on the use of retired military analysts relied heavily on interviews with Rumsfeld subordinates to ascertain guidelines, procedures and intent because of a lack of written policies. The report also stated that the Pentagon contracted with a private company to provide media reports -- 48 in total -- that tracked the commentary of military analysts receiving Pentagon assistance. Other significant findings included 147 organized events provided for the military analysts, sponsored trips to Iraq and Guantanamo and the likely receipt of classified information.

 

Keith Urbahn, spokesman for former Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, told the Washington Times that "the New York Times should give back its Pulitzer" and the Wall Street Journal declared that the report was evidence that "the Pentagon wasn't running a secret propaganda shop, and scores of decorated military officers weren't rapacious pawns." However, Scott Horton, contributing editor at Harper's, has a different take:

 

"The Department of Defense is permitted to run recruitment campaigns and give press briefings to keep Americans informed about its operations, but it is not permitted to engage in 'publicity or propaganda' at home. The internal DoD review exonerating the practice of mobilizing and directing theoretically independent analysts apparently focuses on the fact that the program conforms with existing department rules, but it overlooks the high-level prohibition on 'publicity or propaganda,' which was plainly violated."

 

And we already know that the Bush administration made a habit, if not a policy, out of lying to the American public. The Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative news organization, pointed out in January 2008,

 

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Well Said 2   Valuable 2   Must Read 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Cyril Mychalejko Social Media Pages: Facebook Page       Twitter Page       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram Page

Cyril Mychalejko is a writer, teacher, and mountain lover.

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Ecuador's Constitution Gives Rights to Nature

Sarah Palin and the Bush "Bulge": Will Alaska's Governor be Wired for the Debate on Thursday?

For Bucks County Millennials, Fact-Checking JD Mullane's Primer on Trump's Roaring Economy

Big Brother's New Crystal Ball: Washington Develops Online Data Mining Program to Predict Global Political Unrest

Glenn Greenwald and the Failures of Mainstream Journalism

Military-backed Mapping Project in Oaxaca Under Fire

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend