U.S. Military Stages Media Offensive in Iraq (US paying Iraqi newspapers)

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-infowar30nov30,0,5638790.story?coll=la-home-headlines

U.S. Military Stages Media Offensive in Iraq
By Mark Mazzetti and Borzou Daragahi, Times Staff Writers

WASHINGTON -- As part of an information offensive in Iraq, the U.S. military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by American troops in an effort to burnish the image of the U.S. mission in Iraq.

The articles, written by U.S. military "information operations" troops, are translated into Arabic and placed in Baghdad newspapers with the help of a defense contractor, according to U.S. military officials and documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

Many of the articles are presented in the Iraqi press as unbiased news accounts written and reported by independent journalists. . The stories trumpet the work of U.S. and Iraqi troops, denounce insurgents, and tout U.S.-led efforts to rebuild the country.

While the articles are basically truthful, they present only one side of events and omit information that might reflect poorly on the U.S. or Iraqi governments, officials said. Records and interviews indicate that the U.S. has paid Iraqi newspapers to run dozens of such articles with headlines such as "Iraqis Insist on Living Despite Terrorism" since the effort began this year.
--------more:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-infowar30nov30,0,5638790.story?coll=la-home-headlines


This is not a secret anymore, though I'm not at all surprised. I always knew they had a wannabe Goebbels on the payroll.

What do they say when a car load of Iraqis get perforated at those checkpoints?

A truck load of Enemies of the Legitimate Iraqi Government, including five women and children, tried to ram a checkpoint with their 750,000lb cement truck weapon of mass destruction and were neutralized.

I read an article putting in detail that this was going to happen, quite some time ago! The payments may be secret, but the media strategy most CERTAINLY is not, and never was.

"Many of the articles are presented in the Iraqi press as unbiased news accounts written and reported by independent journalists."

On edit:
"While the articles are basically truthful, they present only one side of events and omit information that might reflect poorly on the U.S. or Iraqi governments, officials said. Records and interviews indicate that the U.S. has paid Iraqi newspapers to run dozens of such articles -- with headlines such as "Iraqis Insist on Living Despite Terrorism" -- since the effort began this year."

They are not "basically truthful". If they are misrepresenting themselves, they cannot be "basically truthful". If someone lies about who they are, why would you believe anything they said?

I really liked that Bushco's attempts at domestic propaganda received a clear mention. It is nice to hear that some military brass have problems with the program, especially since they are fighting for our freedoms (including freedom of the press).

In the interest of truth in advertising, I think that the Lincoln Group should be renamed the Goebbels Group.

"Good Morning VietNam?"

I just couldn't help thinking about how foolish and stupid the U.S. military is. Will they never learn?

NO

back to you, Armstrong al-Williams.

when you PAY media to run stories - it's not news - it's propaganda

James Bamford, the fellow who tore the camo off of NSA, recently wrote an intriguing article in Rolling Stone about the Rendon Group, another disinformation company with similar objectives and modus operandi.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/8798997?pageid=rs.Home&pageregion=single7&rnd=1132253345109&has-player=false

PR Watch suggests that along with the Lincoln Group and the Rendon Group, there is a third disinformation organ at work in Iraq, and possibly more:

http://www.prwatch.org/taxonomy/term/86/9?from=20

Knowing that the Bush Administration is the Imelda Marcos of other shoes dropping, I'm curious to know what all these boutique psyops organizations were doing last year, during the election here in the United States. And was it one of these groups which came up with the psyops home-run strategy of conflating Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden?

I'm sure we'll find out, after the damage is done.

Attack from Mars or something like that where a big eyeball from space lived in a cave and a kid couldn't convince the townspeople that some of them were being controlled by a thing stuck in the back of their necks so they'd act like drones..

All the drone people would say is, "Everything is in order.." over and over as an answer to every question..

Too scary now that it's real..

If one catches a look on the back of a certain monkeyboy's neck and the rest of the cabal members, there is bound to be a holes back there where the aliens stuck the probe.

I think maybe that's where the BOX under his suit performs it's function, right smack in the middle of his back - he's Rove's Puppet and Rove just decides which Drug is needed to be injected at that moment into Bush's system to make him repeat his lines..

"Everything is in Order.. terra, terra, terra.." :)

in wasting US Taxpayer $$$?

in Iraq - hell, I say if Iraqi's can earn an extra buck of Unka Sam by posting the outrageously unbelievable BS the "best" US propagandists come up with - good for them! No one would believe the type hyperbole and crap they put out anyhow.

Tho it IS kind of embarressing to think that our military is shilling like that fellow for Saddam did in the early stages of the war... (What was his name? Baghdad Bob?)
:yoiks:

tooo early - must find coffee....

:kick:

the troops, with no liberal counterpart. Sick

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/3ca72216-6179-11da-8470-0000779e2340.html

As part of an information offensive in Iraq, the U.S. military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by American troops in an effort to burnish the image of the U.S. mission in Iraq.


The articles, written by U.S. military “information operations” troops, are translated into Arabic and placed in Baghdad newspapers with the help of a defense contractor, according to U.S. military officials and documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

Many of the articles are presented in the Iraqi press as unbiased news accounts written and reported by independent journalists. The stories trumpet the work of U.S. and Iraqi troops, denounce insurgents, and tout U.S.-led efforts to rebuild the country.
more...

US Government paying newspapers!!! thats a State run newspaper honey!!!

that is the question.

who made a huge profit on another war profiteering scam.

Is this another front in the Rendon Group information war?

http://www.liberaleliteflotron.blogspot.com

reveled in this unethical, perverted disinformation-dishing criminality during the 1980's:

If you think the United States has never employed propaganda officers, meet Otto Reich. He may soon be our country's chief diplomat in Latin America if the Bush administration has its way.

In March, Bush announced his intention to nominate Reich as assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere. If he's officially nominated, it will be interesting to see how journalists handle Reich -- because from 1983 through 1986, it was Reich's job to handle journalists. That's when he commanded the State Department's Office of Public Diplomacy, whose main mission was to inflame fears about Nicaragua and its left-wing Sandinista government that had come to power by overthrowing a corrupt, U.S.-supported dictator.

By covertly disseminating intelligence leaks to journalists, Reich and the OPD sought to trump up a Nicaraguan "threat," and to sanctify the U.S.-backed Contra guerrillas fighting Nicaragua's government as "freedom fighters." The propaganda was aimed at influencing Congress to continue to fund the Contras.

Take the scary news that Soviet MiG fighter jets were arriving in Nicaragua. With journalists citing unnamed "intelligence sources," the well-timed story surged through U.S. media on the night of Ronald Reagan's reelection. At NBC, Andrea Mitchell broke into election coverage with the story. The furor spurred a Democratic senator to discuss a possible airstrike against Nicaragua. But the story turned out to be a hoax. Several journalists later acknowledged they'd been handed the story by Reich's office.

It isn't the only erroneous story journalists link to the OPD. According to the Miami Herald, for example, Reich's office promoted the fable that Nicaragua had acquired chemical weapons from the Soviets. According to Newsweek, the OPD told reporters that high-level Sandinistas were involved in drug trafficking, but U.S. drug officials said there was no evidence for such a charge.
(snip/...)

http://www.fair.org/index.php?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This would show you our media failed us tremendously during the 1980's, as it was NOT popular knowledge that we'd been had by the Reagan administration, or that there was anything whatsoever amiss in that crap they had sold the American public.

Our media helped them keep it a very large secret. They were lost to us that far back. Compromised.

I must be only VERY Cynical of this WH's BS. :banghead: :mad:

Oh! This is rich!

...The campaign has sparked a backlash among senior military officers both in Iraq and at the Pentagon who argue that attempts to subvert the news media could destroy the U.S. military's credibility....

REALLY!
Could it?

Doh!

They do the SAME thing in this country, so why shouldn't they do it over there?

This just prooves how comfortable the bastard is at lying to the public when questioned about policy.

"Troubling if true" Mother F'er you knew it was true.

At least Lt Col Johnson is ok with telling the truth...

U.S. military secretly pays Iraqi newspapers for running stories trumpeting U.S. mission

By Mark Mazzetti and Borzou Daragahi

Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON — As part of an information offensive in Iraq, the U.S. military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by U.S. troops in an effort to burnish the image of the U.S. mission in Iraq.

The articles, written by U.S. military "information operations" troops, are translated into Arabic and placed in Baghdad newspapers with the help of a defense contractor, according to U.S. military officials and documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

Many of the articles are presented in the Iraqi press as unbiased accounts written and reported by independent journalists. The stories trumpet the work of U.S. and Iraqi troops, denounce insurgents, and tout U.S.-led rebuilding efforts.

While the articles are basically truthful, they present only one side of events and omit information that might reflect poorly on the U.S. or Iraqi governments, officials said. Records and interviews indicate that the U.S. has paid Iraqi newspapers to run dozens of such articles — with headlines such as "Iraqis Insist on Living Despite Terrorism" — since the effort began this year.

The operation is designed to mask any connection with the U.S. military. The Pentagon has a contract with a small Washington, D.C., firm called Lincoln Group, which helps translate and place the stories.

SNIP

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002654715_articles30.html

it worked well here (Armstrong Wms. etc. ) you knew it was inevitable they'd to it there.
assholes.

maybe Fitzgerald will be ordering a raid on their offices soon.

People are acting all shocked that exactly what they said they'd do is actually happening. Geez.

Of course part of that strategy is keeping the actual conduct of that strategy secret. Tactical surprise and all that.

Shocked, I tell you!:wow:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. military offered a mixed message Wednesday about whether it embraced one of its own programs that reportedly paid a consulting firm and Iraqi newspapers to plant favorable stories about the war and the rebuilding effort.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/11/30/iraq.media.ap/index.html

By JEFF GERTH and SCOTT SHANE
Published: December 1, 2005

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 - Titled "The Sands Are Blowing Toward a Democratic Iraq," an article written this week for publication in the Iraqi press was scornful of outsiders' pessimism about the country's future.

"Western press and frequently those self-styled 'objective' observers of Iraq are often critics of how we, the people of Iraq, are proceeding down the path in determining what is best for our nation," the article began. Quoting the Prophet Muhammad, it pleaded for unity and nonviolence.

But far from being the heartfelt opinion of an Iraqi writer, as its language implied, the article was prepared by the United States military as part of a multimillion-dollar covert campaign to plant paid propaganda in the Iraqi news media and pay friendly Iraqi journalists monthly stipends, military contractors and officials said.

The article was one of several in a storyboard, the military's term for a list of articles, that was delivered Tuesday to the Lincoln Group, a Washington-based public relations firm paid by the Pentagon, documents from the Pentagon show. The contractor's job is to translate the articles into Arabic and submit them to Iraqi newspapers or advertising agencies without revealing the Pentagon's role. Documents show that the intended target of the article on a democratic Iraq was Azzaman, a leading independent newspaper, but it is not known whether it was published there or anywhere else.

Even as the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development pay contractors millions of dollars to help train journalists and promote a professional and independent Iraqi media, the Pentagon is paying millions more to the Lincoln Group for work that appears to violate fundamental principles of Western journalism.

more at
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/01/politics/01propaganda.html?hp&ex=1133413200&en=9f62482797121962&ei=5094&partner=homepage

even if these guys were the one of the main proponents.

URGENT! Timing is critical to save freezing earthquake victims!

into Arabic, but the stinking Supreme Court shot down Sibel Edmonds' case involving her buried translations of terrorism suspects leading up to 9-11????

This is all beyond comprehension. I don't know how or when, but we need to remove these criminals from our government.

to "prove" that everything is just peachy keen for all the shiny happy people of the new democratic Iraq.

Show the world how Bush is spreading democracy:
Put it on the ground,
Spread it all around,
Dig it with a hoe,
It'll make the flowers grow.

Stinks to high heaven.

Hekate

Great, does this mean that no Iraqi journalists are going to write anything positive without a hefty chunk of payola?

These guys never learn do they?

Did a natural disaster hit your city or state?

Was your home in Mississippi wiped out by flooding and strong winds?

Rest easy, because our great president and our great Republican party put America first! By paying some dope in the military to write propaganda that sort of promotes "democracy" for Iraqis (who didn't attack us! A handful of nuts in the Pentagon probably did!)

Last Updated: Thursday, 1 December 2005, 17:41 GMT
US 'admits' Iraq propaganda drive

Can Iraqis trust what they read in the newspapers?
The US military in Iraq has implicitly admitted that it is running a campaign to plant articles in Iraqi papers aimed at improving its image in the country.
(snip)
Many stories are being presented as independent accounts, the paper said.
(snip)

In a report published on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times said the articles in question trumpet the work of US and Iraqi troops.

It alleged they were written by US soldiers, and translated into Arabic by a defence contractor which helps place them in Baghdad papers.

The LA Times said the stories were then presented as unbiased accounts by independent journalists, rather than stemming from the US military.

Although many are basically factual, they only present one side of events and omit information that might reflect poorly on the US or Iraqi government, the newspaper added.
(snip/)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4489696.stm

did not know. This was at his press conference today--just a bit ago msnbe reported on this.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4489696.stm

snip

"The US military in Iraq has implicitly admitted that it is running a campaign to plant articles in Iraqi papers aimed at improving its image in the country."

I guess when the truth of white phosphorus attacks doesn't win the hearts and minds of the Iraqis, some well placed lies will.

Who is our Goebbels? Who is our czar of misrepresentation? Seriously, do we know who is in charge of propaganda? ( I cannot believe I'm actually having ask this, that we now are admittidly doing what we scorn our enemies for doing):puke:

to plan a bombing of an Arabic Newspaper, Aljazeera.