Pentagon Co-opted Independent Military Newspaper For PR Campaign Pushing Bush’s War Policies
Pentagon Co-opted Independent Military Newspaper For PR Campaign Pushing Bush’s War Policies
The Pentagon has engaged in an aggressive U.S. grassroots efforts to drum up support for Bush’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the guise of supporting the troops. A central front in this effort has been the “non-political” America Supports You (ASY) program. (One branch of ASY is Operation Straight Up, an “evangelical entertainment troupe that actively proselytizes among active-duty members of the US military.”)
As the New York Times reported in May, the Pentagon Inspector General (IG) is currently investigating whether Pentagon officials “engaged in improper fund-raising and unauthorized spending” for the program. Many Pentagon officials believe that efforts such as ASY are nothing more than “tax-payer-funded propaganda,” with a large portion of the funds going to the PR firm Susan Davis International to bolster domestic support for the war.
On Saturday, the independent military newspaper Stars and Stripes reported that it, too, is now part of the IG’s investigation. Without the knowledge of top editors, the Pentagon transferred Stars and Stripes funds to Susan Davis International for ASY promotion:
But documents obtained Friday show that Stars and Stripes awarded a $499,000 purchase agreement in July 2006 for a public relations firm to represent America Supports You. [...]
One of the tasks the document outlines for Susan Davis International is to develop “[m]edia strategy, message and outreach for communications nationwide in markets and in overseas areas of military deployments and operations.”
The revelations have caused “extreme concern” among the Stars and Stripes staff, who believe they may jeopardize their legitimacy as an “editorially independent newspaper.”
The common link between Stars and Stripes and ASY is Pentagon communications official Allison Barber, who heads both ASY and American Forces Information Service, the parent organization for Stars and Stripes. As the American public has become increasingly disaffected with Bush’s war policies, Barber has had to ramp up the administration’s PR efforts.
This isn’t the first time Barber has been caught in unethical doings. In 2005, she “insisted” to reporters that questions from U.S. troops to Bush during a press conference “were not rehearsed.” Later she was caught on tape showing just the opposite — that she had “drilled through” “all six” of the questions that Bush was going to ask.
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I’m (yawn) shocked.
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:19 pmIt won’t help. Only the koolaid drinkers are buying it anymore.
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:22 pmThis is highly illegal.
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:23 pmAnd Nancy still cannot find a Table…….
You mean Judith Miller finally will have a new place to call “home”?
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:23 pmMission Accomplished: The military is now completely politicized. Right, Betrayus?
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:29 pmOf course they did. Why do we even need to ask this question.
The Bush Crime Family… you’ve NEVER seen anything like this mob before!!!
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:34 pmRe: The Pentagon has engaged in an aggressive U.S. grassroots efforts to drum up support for Bush’s wars in Iraq…
Which brings up this point: if a majority of the American public was behind Bush in his “war” on terror, as many would have us believe, then there would be no need for drumming up support, especially 4 1/2 years after the “war” began.
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:37 pmYes and when it rains, things get wet.
The real news story will be finding something that has not been skewed or manipulated or out-right lied about by this admin and its cronies.
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:46 pmWith 70% of Americans against the war, let’s hope they run a better propaganda program in Iraq.
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:52 pmMore chicanery from the lameduck White House. When will it end? Sorry, but no one’s listening to any of it any longer.
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:11 pm#8 Isn’t that the truth? I don’t believe that we could find one department, project, or aspect of the Bush Administration which is not rife with propaganda, skewed facts, lies, missing information, or downright incompetence. I’d be shocked on my a$$ to find something they’ve done right. The history is already written on Bush and his cohorts as being the most disastrous administration ever in the history of this country. Nothing they do will change that now.
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:13 pmPersonally I think we need a leader to set an example .. a Constitutional example…
Please help this come true…
Several thousand people all on one day sending in $100 all at once… not for a war monger… not for some democrat that made promises that they yet again did not keep… but for someone that can be respected by all resonable and logically informed people…
Ron Paul
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:17 pm@ You tube = http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=RonPaul2008dotcom
State Sponsored Propaganda
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:20 pmThe American people are treating the BA like ill-mannered dinner guests, the idea being that there is no sense in being impolite – after eating, these uncouth, unsavory people will leave and never be invited back. What they don’t understand is that the silverware, the money in the matress, dad’s wallet and checkbook, mom’s wedding ring, and grandma’s false teeth have been stolen. These guys aren’t planning on coming back, as there will be nothing to come back to.
So much for being patient and polite. We need indictments.
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:21 pmThe Question is…what do we do to counter this?
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:31 pmComment by ggibson1 — October 22, 2007 @ 6:17 pm
As a Texan who has watched Ron Paul over the years, all I can say is only fools will vote for Paul, just like a whole lot of fools voted for W.
He has never renounced his racist newsletters, but blamed them on a “ghostwriter”. The racist articles were listing Ron Paul as the author.
He is a weasel.
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:39 pmThis isn’t “Grassroots” it is ASTROTURF!
Oh yeah – send a $100 to a whack job John Bircher! Ron Paul – right on the war – crazy on everything else!
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:40 pm#11 Comment by ggibson1 — October 22, 2007 @ 6:17 pm
Ron Paul is a known quantity. As PlacitasRoy says:
…right on the war – crazy on everything else!
To have Paul as President would be jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:47 pmThe only reason people are rallying behind Ron Paul at all is because he seems to be the only candidate with a strong stance on the war. The rest are wishy-washy at best. Crazy on everything else is accurate, unfortunately. He’s rallying the Republican moderates but I don’t believe that he’ll draw Indy’s or Dems into his lair.
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:15 pmWhat a complete diservice to the troops. This takes the cake. I await their reaction, if allowed.
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:33 pmbut…but… there is no money to pay health cost for the children..
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:56 pmSomeone needs to physically grab that Allison Barber by her bible-thumping, Bush-worshipping, right-wing propagandizing throat and yank her out of her Pentagon office once and for all. This shit’s been allowed to go on too long. She was also the one who defended giving Armed Forces Radio airtime exclusively to right-wing blowhards like Limbaugh and Hannity. She put up as many obstacles as she could to keep Ed Schultz from getting aired at U.S. military installations.
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:36 pmPut up or shut up people…. just like over the past several years with the neo con trolls… I can provide the links… can you?
Just like I can whip out the links to the Founding Fathers to bash the neocons the same goes for you… show us WHERE Ron Paul is crazy OR harmful in anyway and HOW the Founding Fathers vision for America backs up you…. I have done the research on this matter … have you?
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:50 pmRon Paul is a Republican Libertarian. why would anyone here vote for him? That’s just crazy.
October 22nd, 2007 at 10:28 pmActually I dont want to leave you with a challenge but an explanation of just one issue.
When I first started looking at Ron Paul for my vote I quickly ran into his opinion on abortion…
I sincerely see most abortions as simply an ugly fact of life… like the ugly fact that we slaughter to eat, we get sick, and we even die.
However with Ron Paul being a baby doctor of all things and a Christian I could see where he is coming from… why he would feel the way he does about abortion… However that was not enough.
I heard him say if the Constitution is really so important then it should apply to all Americans of all ages… well that seems true on the face of it… though I still wasnt convinced about any laws being passed by the federal government to outlaw it.
And then I learned he was NOT trying to promote the federal government to pass laws against abortion at all… the opposite actually… he wants the federal government to stay out of such issues… that too makes sense on most issues but not all (slavery for example)… however what would that mean? Well isnt science well on its way to making this entire question moot with better and better birth control? Also it would NOT mean the fight for abortion is over…
it would mean the the fight would become more difficult as the fight would have to be done on a state to state basis … INSTEAD of participating in the bribery/lobbyist system in DC…
that last part is important in my mind… This system of bribery is what seems to be at the core of the corruption that has led to ever increasing stupidity and cowardice in Congress… if we could clean our own house then all kinds of different areas would become fixed by “logical” people who are willing to listen to ideas in order to form plans or beliefs… this is what Ron Paul does… he does not pander… his ideas are always backed up by history and fact because he operates off of knowledge not ego….
Ron Paul can set an example and get the power of the presidency to get people to REALLY think about and look up the facts he is using as the basis of his arguments… and he has made clear he does not intend on abusing the presidency as SOME have done… but instead act as a president the founding fathers would recognize…
Will Ron Paul act like Bush and just stick it to everyone and ignore their pleas for reason? I have no reason to believe that a person that operates off of facts and history and logic will pull that stunt. He should be able to bend just like he would be asking others in Congress to bend and listen… like adults as it should be … instead of constant coercion…
October 22nd, 2007 at 10:30 pmRon Paul is a Republican Libertarian. why would anyone here vote for him? That’s just crazy.
Comment by Lefty Patriot
Maybe you get your identity and rights from a label like “democrat”, but I do not. I voted for the democrats since 2000 expecting results… not the BS we got.
October 22nd, 2007 at 10:32 pmYou support a Libertarian agenda, while I don’t. I am a Progressive. Paul’s stands on the issues listed below, I believe, are simply bad and very wrong for this country. I’m sure you will probably disagree. That is your right.
• He favors withdrawal from NATO and the United Nations. I want to expand the role of the UN.
October 22nd, 2007 at 10:53 pm• He opposes gun control. I support gun control
• He is pro-life. I am pro choice.
• He advocates the overturn of Roe v. Wade, and affirms states’ rights to determine the legality of abortion. I am strongly for Roe vs Wade and believe it is unworkable to have 50 states with differing laws on abortion.
• He supports states’ rights I am for a balance of Federal and States rights.
• He supports a Constitutional amendment allowing voluntary and unofficial school prayer. I believe in total separation of Church and State
• He favors allowing workers to opt out of Social Security, expanding the free market in health care. I reject this idea totally.
• He favors limited Federal Government. I believe in a Federal Government involved with the people.
#23 Comment by ggibson1 — October 22, 2007 @ 9:50 pm
Put up or shut up people….
Sorry I forgot to add this to my post #27
October 22nd, 2007 at 10:55 pmRon Paul’s racism is well documented, printed in his newsletter, authored under his name, distributed by him.
A quick google brings up alot.
I cannot support this guy, sorry.
October 22nd, 2007 at 11:34 pm“Later she was caught on tape showing just the opposite — that she had “drilled through†“all six†of the questions that Bush was going to ask.”
Are ya sure that she didn’t drill through ““all six†of the questions that Bush was going to ANSWER“?
Not that ever really answers them.
I have noticed that there have been a lot of minor editorial slips in the posts lately. Does TP need help editing around here?
I know it isn’t easy when you are producing mass amounts of posts and it is all going up (hopefully) in a timely enough manner to push back against the right-wing’s echo chamber.
October 23rd, 2007 at 12:02 amDang… I can’t edit my comment… “Not that BUSH ever really answers them.” lol
October 23rd, 2007 at 12:03 amGGibson1
Now here is an interesting vote by Ron Paul. Why do you think he voted No? Could it have been a race based issue for him? Emmett Till was black. Considering the overwhelming bipartisan vote, what is Paul’s reasoning?
Thu Jun 21, 2007
“Yesterday the House passed landmark civil rights legislation, H.R. 923, the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, by a vote of 422-2. The bill, sponsored by Representatives John Lewis (D-GA) and Kenny Hulshof (R-MO), would re-open hate crime cases during the Civil Rights Era, focusing on investigating and prosecuting murder cases occurring prior to 1970.
October 23rd, 2007 at 12:12 amThe two votes against? Georgia’s Lynn Westmoreland and that darling of people who aren’t paying close enough attention to reality, Ron Paul.”