Pentagon Rolls Out Stealth PR

Hey, why not? it's sure working here in the states! the VNRs (video
news releases) produced by the Pentagon and passed off as
investigative journalism by our main stream news outlets - why not
feed it to the world?

gee - I wonder what else the $300 million of our tax dollars could
pay for - healthcare / education perhaps? oh, and all the groups
contracted to produce the propaganda were selected through no bid
contracts! woohoo!

Pentagon Rolls Out Stealth PR
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-12-14-pentagon-pr_x.htm

3 groups have contracts for pro-U.S. propaganda
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-12-13-propaganda-inside-
usat_x.htm
By Matt Kelley
USA Today

Wednesday 14 December 2005

Washington - A $300 million Pentagon psychological warfare operation
includes plans for placing pro-American messages in foreign media
outlets without disclosing the US government as the source, one of
the military officials in charge of the program says.

Run by psychological warfare experts at the US Special
Operations Command, the media campaign is being designed to counter
terrorist ideology and sway foreign audiences to support American
policies. The military wants to fight the information war against al-
Qaeda through newspapers, websites, radio, television and "novelty
items" such as T-shirts and bumper stickers.

The program will operate throughout the world, including in
allied nations and in countries where the United States is not
involved in armed conflict.

The description of the program by Mike Furlong, deputy director
of the Joint Psychological Operations Support Element, provides the
most detailed look to date at the Pentagon's global campaign.

The three companies handling the campaign include the Lincoln
Group, the company being investigated by the Pentagon for paying
Iraqi newspapers to run pro-US stories. (Related story: Contracts for
Pro-US Propaganda)

Military officials involved with the campaign say they're not
planning to place false stories in foreign news outlets
clandestinely. But the military won't always reveal its role in
distributing pro-American messages, Furlong says.

"While the product may not carry the label, 'Made in the USA,'
we will respond truthfully if asked" by journalists, Furlong told USA
TODAY in a videoconference interview.

He declined to give examples of specific "products," which he
said would include articles, advertisements and public-service
announcements.

The military's communications work in Iraq has recently drawn
controversy with disclosures that Lincoln Group and the US military
secretly paid journalists and news outlets to run pro-American stories.

White House officials have expressed concern about the practice,
even when the stories are true.

National security adviser Stephen Hadley said President Bush was
"very troubled" by activities in Iraq and would stop them if they
hurt efforts to build independent news media in Iraq. The military
started its own probe.

It's legal for the government to plant propaganda in other
countries but not in the USA The White House referred requests for
comment about the contracts to the Pentagon, where officials did not
respond.

Special Operations Command awarded three contracts worth up to
$100 million each for the media campaign in June. Besides the Lincoln
Group, the contractors are Science Applications International Corp.
(SAIC) of San Diego and SYColeman of Washington.

SAIC and Lincoln Group spokesmen declined to comment on the
contract. Rick Kiernan, a spokesman for SYColeman, says its work for
Special Operations Command is "more in the world of advertising."

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has emphasized that Washington
must promote its message better. "The worst about America and our
military seems to so quickly be taken as truth by the press and
reported and spread around the world," he said last week.

The Iraq example may cause Arabs to doubt any pro-American
messages, says Jumana al-Tamimi, an editor for the Gulf News, an
English-language newspaper published in the United Arab Emirates.

Placing pro-US content in foreign media "makes people suspicious
of the open press," says Ken Bacon, a Clinton administration Pentagon
spokesman who heads the non-profit group Refugees International.

No contractor for the global program has made a final product,
Furlong says. Approval will come from Rumsfeld's office and regional
commanders. Some of the development work is classified.

"Sometimes it's not good to signal ... what your plans are," he
says.

The Program:

Cost: Up to $100 million per contractor, $300 million total.
Contractors: SYColeman of Washington; Lincoln Group of Washington;
Science Applications International Corp. of San Diego.
Awarded: June 7.
Length: Five years.
Purpose: "For media approach planning, prototype product development,
commercial quality product development, product distribution and
dissemination, and media effects analysis."