In a conflict where public opinion is half the battle, as the US officer points out, the US is now in the position where anything positive in the Arab-language press will be discounted or dismissed by readers as bought and paid for propaganda.
A colossal public affairs blunder by people who believe that rigging the game is the way to "win" - wrong. They just paid a HUGE price in credibility and how well their message will sell.
Dumb.
White House wants answers on planted Iraq stories
By Will Dunham Thu Dec 1, 5:31 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House and a senior Republican lawmaker expressed concern on Thursday about secret military payments to get Iraqi newspapers to print pro-American articles, but the military said it was important to spread the truth while insurgents were "lying to the Iraqi people."
U.S. troops in an "information operations" task force have written articles with positive messages about the U.S. mission in Iraq that have been translated from English into Arabic and planted in Iraqi newspapers in return for money, according to defense officials speaking on condition of anonymity.
"We're very concerned about the reports. We are seeking more information from the Pentagon," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
Virginia Republican Sen. John Warner (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, asked Pentagon officials to brief the panel on the matter on Friday.
Warner said he did not know whether the practice was taking place, but said, "I am concerned about any actions that may undermine the credibility of the United States as we help the Iraqi people stand up a democracy."
"Further, a free and independent press is critical to the functioning of a democracy, and I am concerned about any actions which may erode the independence of the Iraqi media," Warner added in a statement.
Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq, was asked during a briefing in Baghdad whether paying off Iraqi news organizations to run pro-American stories undermines the credibility of the U.S. military and of the new Iraqi media.
Lynch replied that al Qaeda leaders believe "half the battle is the battlefield of the media," citing a letter, released by the United States in October, said to have been written by al Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, to the extremist network's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
"And what Zarqawi's doing continuously is lying to the Iraqi people, lying to the international community, conducting these kidnappings, these beheadings, these explosions so that he gets international coverage to look like he has more capability than he truly has," Lynch said.
'WE DON'T LIE'
"We don't lie. We don't need to lie. We do empower our operational commanders with the ability to inform the Iraqi public, but everything we do is based on fact not based on fiction," Lynch said.
Lynch did not explicitly confirm the practice of paying newspapers to run pro-American articles, first reported on Wednesday by The Los Angeles Times, but other officials did confirm it. The Times also reported that the military had bought an Iraqi newspaper and taken control of a radio station to disseminate pro-American views.
A senior State Department official, who asked for anonymity, said the reports of planted stories undermined U.S. diplomats' efforts to foster democracy in Iraq.
Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry said paying for stories to run in Iraqi papers undermines America's credibility, adding, "What we need are Iraqis who really believe what they're saying and say it for themselves."
A defense contractor involved in the effort, Washington-based Lincoln Group, declined to detail its activities.
The Pentagon closed its Office of Strategic Influence in 2002 after reports that it planned to plant false news stories with foreign media outlets.
The Bush administration also has tried to influence domestic media, including having federal agencies distribute video packages to U.S. TV stations that could be broadcast as news stories and paying commentator Armstrong Williams to tout Bush education policies in TV appearances and in his column. |
