U.S. buys positive press in Iraq
The U.S. military vowed to investigate itself
Wednesday about paying a consulting firm and Iraqi newspapers to plant favorable
stories about the war and the rebuilding effort.
"This is a military program initiated with the multinational force to help get factual information about ongoing operations into Iraqi news," [Lt. Col. Barry] Johnson said in an e-mail. "I want to emphasize that all information used for marketing these stories is completely factual."
Are you wearing your rubber boots?
Details about the program were first reported by the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday. It marked the second time this year that Pentagon programs have come under scrutiny for reported payments made to journalists for favorable press.
Two other federal agencies have been investigated in the past year for similar activities, leading Congress' Government Accountability Office to condemn one, the Education Department, for engaging in illegal covert propaganda.
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John Schulz, a former executive with Voice of America who is now dean of the Boston University College of Communication, called the military program scary.
"The Bush administration, and some elements within the Defense Department, do not seem to grasp the irony that, in their efforts to create, impose or inspire democratic society in Iraq, they are subverting the very core of what democracy means and are instead, by example, undercutting the very thing they are attempting to instill in Iraq," Schulz said.
An LA TIMES reporter on MSNBC's Countdown, Wednesday, said the "contractors" would pay from $50 to $1500 to have the stories published. His investigator on the scene asked one editor if he realized the Americans were behind it? He replied, "No -- otherwise I would have asked for more!"
Posted: Thu - December 1, 2005 at 07:03 AM