Bushies Buying Bloggers
26 December 2005 6:41 pm by Taylor Marsh
Bushies Buying Bloggers
Roggio’s arrival in Iraq comes amid what military commanders
and analysts say is an increasingly aggressive battle for control over information
about the conflict. Scrutiny of what the Pentagon calls information operations
heightened late last month, when news reports revealed that the U.S. military
was paying Iraqi journalists and news organizations to publish favorable stories
written by soldiers, sometimes without disclosing the military’s role in producing
them."I am convinced that information operations from
both sides are increasing and intensifying. I think both sides are beginning
to understand that this struggle will be waged in both the kinetic and informational
realms, but that the latter is the decisive area of operations," wrote
Daniel Kuehl, a professor at the National Defense University in Washington
who specializes in information operations. "The insurgents target several
audiences, including the Islamic world and the American populace."In addition, the military has paid money to try to
place favorable coverage on television stations in three Iraqi cities, according
to an Army spokesman, Maj. Dan Blanton. The military, said Blanton, has given
one of the stations about $35,000 in equipment, is building a new facility
for $300,000 and pays $600 a week for a weekly program that focuses positively
on U.S. efforts in Iraq. The names of the city and the television station
are being withheld because the producer of the show said he and his staff
would be seen as collaborators and endangered if identified.
Bloggers,
Money Now Weapons in Information War
Buying
bloggers is the answer? That’s absurd, especially when no one doubts that our
military is doing an amazing job. The challenge isn’t our military efforts.
It’s the political efforts.
Propaganda is always a tool, but never have we been this sloppy
at it. With all the access to what’s happening in Iraq, does our government
truly believe this is going to work, when everyone knows who is disseminating
the stories?
What we need are some Iraqis who actually believe things are getting
better in Iraq. But with the latest
violence leaving over 2 dozen Iraqis dead. It’s hard to convince anyone
unless security replaces the carnage. There simply is no substitute for order and safety.
"Informational realms" are very important, even propaganda has its place, but nothing can outweigh what’s happening on the ground.
