Contract for global propaganda campaign has few safeguards, document shows

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Contract_for_global_propaganda_campaign_has_0131.html

Contract for global propaganda campaign has few safeguards, document shows

Up to $100m campaign enlists balls, bumper stickers in terror fight

The task order for a stealth global propaganda campaign ordered by the U.S. Special Operations Command and carried out by a Washington-based defense contractor with scant experience reveals that the Defense Department has pursued a more aggressive international "information" campaign than previously realized.

The contract awarded to the Lincoln Group -- the firm which planted false news stories in the Iraqi media -- was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by activist blogger Michael Petrelis (Petrelis Files) and provided to RAW STORY. While the program has been reported on before, the contract has never been made public before today.

Perhaps the most striking element of the contract is the emphasis on psychological operations and its open-ended scope. Valued at up to $100 million, the five-year Lincoln Group contract allows the U.S. military to deploy strategic messages -- not bound by truth -- in any non-combat theater across the globe.