New Pentagon Office Pushes For More Hardline Broadcasts In Iran
New Pentagon Office Pushes For More Hardline Broadcasts In Iran
McClatchy news service reports today that the Pentagon has drafted a report “charging that U.S. international broadcasts into Iran aren’t tough enough on the Islamic regime,” an indication that elements within the administration continue to push for a more confrontational policy toward Iran:
The report appears to be a gambit by some officials in Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld’s office and elsewhere to gain sway over television and radio broadcasts into Iran, one of the few direct tools the United States has to reach the Iranian people.
These efforts are being coordinated out of a new “Iran Directorate,” which has been compared to the Office of Special Plans, the controversial intelligence analysis unit established before the war in Iraq that provided cherry-picked intelligence to Rumsfeld and the White House.
U.S. broadcasting officials who have read the Iran Directorate’s report say it is “riddled with errors” and a “thinly veiled” attack on Voice of America and its charter, which states that “VOA news will be accurate, objective, and comprehensive.”
McClatchy notes that veterans of government broadcasting “say that not even during the Cold War – with the exception of the 1956 uprising in Hungary – did such news organizations as the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty call for the overthrow of adversary governments. Rather, they said, they serve as sources of objective news and models of how democracies operate.”
Kevin Drum has more.
– Kindra Wilson
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when you are stupid, you never learn from past mistakes
September 27th, 2006 at 4:11 pmignorance is curable. It only takes desire and practice
these folks are clearly stupid, or are making a lot of money doing what they are doing
which do you think it is?
I believe I recall Bush saying something years ago about using endless repetition in order to catapult the propaganda. This is just more of the same nonsense.
September 27th, 2006 at 4:12 pmAmerica’s Least Wanted
Rice says she would not back gas embargo on Iran
sorry this news has dissapeared from reuters so link not accepted on TP(find it as I did with a search “rice”)
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she did not support a gasoline embargo on Iran as a way of punishing Tehran for refusing to give up its uranium enrichment program.
In an interview for publication in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Rice said there were “limitations on the oil card” against Iran, which failed to meet an August 31 U.N. deadline to give up uranium enrichment.
“I don’t think that it was anything that you have to look at it in the near term and I’m not sure that it (a gasoline embargo) would have the desired effect,” she said, according to a transcript of her interview released by the State Department.
what i find amusing is that by the time America wakes up most of the headlines that would be interesting to America dissapear from the main headline news …. could it be a conspiracy, I have noticed this a few times now ?????strange
September 27th, 2006 at 4:18 pmI was live (blogging) broadcasting at the DC Courthouse today…
I Lost My Lunch..
I am sure I had it when I came to court this morning for a Libby pre-trial hearing… Oh well.
UPDATE: Sitting outside the courthouse at Constitution & 3rd – some sort of bomb scare – Sure wish I had my salami on rye right about now…as usual Judge Walton has on a great tie…hmmm, he smells like salami…
UPDATE II: Sometimes I feel like a fly on the wall. I could sure use some sunscreen. My laptop battery is about to
UPDATE III: die. Back in the courthouse and ready to kick some evildoer a**. I was wrong…Reggie has egg salad on his tie…Also, CREW has a new blog! :D
FINAL UPDATE: Does salami have alot of nitrates in it…say like a bomb? Don’t ask, don’t tell works for me…
http://patrickjfitzgerald.blogspot.com
September 27th, 2006 at 4:22 pmA Pentagon insider writing about the Office of Special Plans:
September 27th, 2006 at 4:27 pm
“VOA news will be accurate, objective and comprehensive”
No wonder the Bush people want to change the organization, so far they have been inaccurate, subjective and one sided in just about everything they have done.
It will be very nice when the Dems take over and the American people get a chance to see clearly what their government is doing in their name.
September 27th, 2006 at 4:28 pm“VOA news will be accurate, objective, and comprehensive.”
No wonder the Bush administration wants to change VOA, to my recollection almost everything that has come out of the Bush administration has been inaccurate, subjective and one-sided.
I can hardly wait for the Democrats to take over Congress so we can have hearings about any number of things and let the American people know what exactly their government has been doing in their name these last 5 years.
September 27th, 2006 at 4:38 pmTelevision has dumbed down American Citizens to such a degree that they have forgotton their Constitution, their values and their morals, on their headlong march into fascism.
They just want to extend the empire.
September 27th, 2006 at 4:40 pm# 1
It’s not stupidity or incompetence that lead USA to Iraq. It was a wanted war and it’s the same with Iran. Neocons had it all planned before 9/11…
September 27th, 2006 at 4:40 pmI guess we can expect the Bush trolls to run around repeating more psy-ops as facts..
September 27th, 2006 at 4:44 pm#6
Simply getting the Dems in will not be enough. We also need to remain vigilant as a people. It’s the only way to avoid a repeat of the past 5 years, and the only way to assure that the current forces working against the American people stay under the microscope.
September 27th, 2006 at 4:51 pmWhy don’t they just pipe Druggie Limpblow
September 27th, 2006 at 4:51 pmand Slannity 24/7?
”Accurate, objective and comprehensive’ is what
they do so-o-o-o well.
/sarcasm off
Boehner interview on Hardball: Boehner was filleted by Matthews on his Iraq war position….Boehner looked like a double talking jackass as he tried to slime his way out of the noose Matthews was tightening around his neck. His upperlip was sweating like a pig before the interview was over (or maybe that was nasal discharge….ouieeeee….or more apropos….soueeee!). Boehner is finished up after this one!
September 27th, 2006 at 5:18 pmI totally support hard line broadcasts into Iran by VOA. Bush will be reading My Pet Goat nonstop for 52 weeks. The Iranians will be so busy laughing their asses off, Bush can just waltz into Tehran.
September 27th, 2006 at 5:19 pmWhy don’t they seek the Popenfuhrer’s advice on how to communicate with the Muslim world. He got his message across with no problems at all.
September 27th, 2006 at 5:28 pmEarly on in the Bush era, they spoke of “disinformation.” Deliberate skewing of the news to influence events. They were met with a lot of flak, and so they said they discontinued the program. The storm abated, and
September 27th, 2006 at 5:46 pmthat’s all they needed – - keep it quiet and continue to do as they please anyway.
Caption Contest; “My hummingbird ass? About this big..”
September 27th, 2006 at 5:47 pmBoehner is finished up after this one!
September 27th, 2006 at 5:52 pmComment by ruskindoc — September 27, 2006 @ 5:18 pm
yo! did you see where Boner said that there were “indirect ties” to al-Qaeda by Saddam. He said,”that Saddam helped train terrorists”. No Sh*t! Also, that by not knowing there were a couple terrorists in Iraq that is still considered giving the terrorists sanctuary. Could Mathhews please call him a liar or at least tell him that isn’t true.
right wing is now attacking the great Olbermann – typical!
I guess his special comments are making a difference!!!
check out some of their youtube vids
September 27th, 2006 at 6:23 pmhttp://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=1D14E64E0701DB37
Oh I don’t think so. This must have come from the ‘Office of Really Sh*tty Ideas.’ Given the current state of affairs, purposely broadcasting antagonistic propoganda, created by some ‘think tank’, that specializes in finding the best ways to piss people off, in hopes of getting a ‘reaction’ out of them. Congress needs to say HELL NO to Rummy on this one, right now.
September 27th, 2006 at 6:42 pmRumsfeld,
You are an idiot. Let me repeat. You are the biggest idiot on the planet.
You do not combat extremism with extremism. You cannot convince moderates in one country to your side through your own brand of extremism. You have to convince them that you are rational and reasonable and civilized. Otherwise you alienate them, just like the whole administration has alienated 60% of your own county’s population.
O wait, that must be it. They want to turn even the moderates in Iran against the US. Good excuse for a war, they all want to kill us and steal our freedoms.
I take it back. Rumsfeld, you are a genius (for an idiot).
September 27th, 2006 at 6:54 pmIt’s called common sense you clueless dimwits. Fight fire w/ fire.
Al Jezeera pumps Anti American swill at the Middle East 24/7. (Just like the NY Times and the alphabet networks)
Why can’t one of you “haters” say one positive thing about the USA?
(Awaiting for some unfunny sarcasm from the peanut gallery)
September 27th, 2006 at 6:58 pmIf we feel we have the right to broadcast our propaganda to Iranians, then it’s only fair that we hear what they have to say…
So, I propose that fairness be instututed, and our government allow reciprocation in the propaganda business, OR are they too afraid to let the American people hear what Iranians would say to the American people directly?
freedom af speech my ass… Notice how we want the world to hear us, but we aren’t allowed to hear them…. hmmm
September 27th, 2006 at 7:10 pmHomer,
You need to go to Jesus Camp. I mean, how can we beat them thar Islamic fanatics unless we are the most fanatical of all religious fanatics on the planet, right?
When Bill Clinton was president, how would you react if an Iranian radio station was telling you to reject the US government? How about now?
September 27th, 2006 at 7:10 pmJake,
When Clinton was in office, he’d have to wait until the polls came out for he wouldn’t make a decision that may hurt his popularity.
Believe me, I’m not a huge Bush fan but I do understand we have to finish the job in Iraq, stop the whacky Irinians from getting nukes and stomp out the Islamic terror threat. We ARE at was and it may take 10 more years to win it for we MUST win it.
September 27th, 2006 at 7:45 pmHomer:
I don’t watch the Simpsons, but from what I understand of the show, you’ve chosen an apt screen name for yourself.
Even before our invasion of Iraq we were not highly regarded in the Arab world. They did not need and DO not need Al Jazeera to tell them to have an unfavorable opinion of us. They have many problems, and serious ones, which we did not cause, but we have for the most part exacerbated their problems. I will not go into the lengthy history of our actions which have led to an unfavorable opinion on their part. If you do not know of these, I suggest that you educate yourself.
What would broadcasting a “harder line” consist of? That America is right and the Arabs are wrong? That we’re going to kick more butt if they don’t recognize our “superiority” and prevent all insurgent attacks, suicide bombs, etc.? What?
Or perhaps the broadcasts will consist of all the good we’re doing for them. Riiiiight.
In any case, this has already been tried, in 2003 if recollection serves, and it was a huge bomb. The broadcasts were not listened to by many people, and were derided by the people who did listen to them as well as those who didn’t. Do the people promulgating this idea honestly think that the result will be different this time? Are they f—ing nuts?
Are you rightwingers totally incapable of putting yourselves in others’ shoes? How would you feel if the Chinese had invaded us, continued to occupy our country, and then tried to sweeten our opinion of them by broadcasting bull? Think about it.
September 27th, 2006 at 8:01 pmCaption:
September 27th, 2006 at 10:05 pm“the excited chickenhawk “winkie” is about….. yea big (3″)
Wolfie
“If the Chines invades us”… Saddam killed hundreds of thousands of his own people (using WMD’s I might add), attacked his neighbors, and blew off UN sanctions 17 times!
Do not get all your info from the NY Times ir Air America. (The latter on it’s last legs thankfully)
September 27th, 2006 at 10:54 pmMcClatchy notes that [...] Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty [...] serve as sources of objective news and models of how democracies operate.â€
Regarding the “objectivity” of the VoA and RFE (we didn’t get Radio Liberty, when I was a child growing up in communist Poland), I was always told to listen to *both* (those and the official propaganda) and then make my mind up at somewhere close to the middle, since both were equally biased, just in opposite directions. By the time I was 16 — beginning to think independently and able to understand BBC’s English — I found that to be true.
The *one* thing that made staying up till all hours (when the signal wasn’t blocked) — in hopes of catching a broadcast — worth while was that RFE (more than VoA) had, sometimes, more than just a different *spin*, on facts; sometimes, it reported some facts that the official propaganda saw fit to omit. In that respect, one might say that the blogosphere is the equivalent of the RFE and VoA of 40 yrs ago :)
September 28th, 2006 at 12:30 am#28 – PLC
I’m shocked! Just….shocked!
:-)
September 28th, 2006 at 12:56 amRE:28
September 28th, 2006 at 8:30 amPLC!!!! What a terrible thing for a Christian to say! The caption should simplybe Don Rummy saying “This is almost exactly how much WMD we found in Iraq.”
Walking that line with the “b.j.” quote are we not?
coachjason
Why terrible? I think the “quote” perfectly ties together 1) Rumsfeld’s ridiculous self-interviewing style, 2) my opinion that Rumsfeld has more concern with “pleasuring himself” by his political actions than caring about the country, 3) the fact that Rumsfeld has already labeled me as a “terrorist appeaser” because I’m a liberal against the war in Iraq, and 4) the conservative’s obsession with Clinton’s sexual misconduct. To me, the war in Iraq is a terrible way for a Christian to act, much worse than anything I can say.
Besides, I think God has a sense of humor!
September 28th, 2006 at 8:50 amGod Dang It!
Just call it for what it is. A B.J. is a B.J. Walking what line?
The one that separates heaven and hell?
Why all the fuss?
Coach Jason says:
One credit I give to Republicans is that they do not care which religion you are in… whereas if you profess to be a Christian, Democrats (some) automatically think you are not worthy of talking to
This can’t be further from the truth. Republicans obsess on “which religion you are in”. Why are they trying to “liberate” Muslims from their own faith in Iraq and the Middle East? Oh yes, I forgot. Oil.
The extreme-righteous-preachers-Christian-Republicans such as Fallwell, Roberston and their ilk are the ones not worthy of talking to… Not you and PLC.
September 28th, 2006 at 12:42 pmWe need a lot more info about Iran this time. Is what they want to do going to accomplish the stated objective? They need to explain that first. They can’t just attack Iran in a spasm without it being thought out that it makes sense. Then we have to evaluate the costs. If it won’t do what it says though, we can ask them why they want to do it? What will they do if it doesn’t work? What can go wrong?
September 28th, 2006 at 7:24 pmpetroleum refineries
Man i love reading your blog, interesting posts !
March 18th, 2008 at 1:43 am