Pentagon Closes Office Accused Of Issuing Propaganda Under Bush

New York Times:

WASHINGTON -- A Pentagon office responsible for coordinating Defense Department information campaigns overseas has been abolished in an effort by the Obama administration to distance itself from past practices that some military officers called propaganda, senior officials said Wednesday.

Military and civilian critics said the office, the Defense Department office for support to public diplomacy, overstepped its mandate during the final years of the Bush administration by trying to organize information operations that violated Pentagon guidelines for accuracy and transparency.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[Macready]

dah .. . it should be his office . . . sorry for the typo

[Macready]

could this be where rumsfeld had he office???

[Republicrats]

And then the Obama admin opened an office down the hall focused on re-education of the term propaganda to one more enemy friendly...

[brandnewstuff]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPpUFBVSyWs
headhunter

[plooger]

And how many people are losing their jobs over the violation of policy?

[Daly]

they are ramping up staff in other area giving any possible job losses a good shot at other gigs - IF they were qualified to begin with.

Of course, they may not qualify if they were selected just because they were thumpers or zealots to the cause.

[obamagal]

Of equal importance is the continued obstruction by Cornyn/GOP in the confirmation of Dawn Johnsen for Office of Legal Counsel.

Kathleen Turner has written an outstanding article.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathleen-turner/a-fight-that-matters_b_186943.htmll).

~ snip ~

"Indeed, it's fair to say that for all the misdeeds and mismanagement that went on under the Bush White House, the rot at the Office of Legal Counsel may well have been the worst. It epitomized our government's shameful refusal to respect the core principles of our Constitution.

…

To restore integrity and respect for the rule of law to the Department, President Obama has nominated an inordinately qualified individual - Dawn Johnsen - who is now being attacked by Republicans and her right-wing allies for having the nerve to criticize Bush administration excesses....

...

Make no mistake -- the success or failure of Dawn Johnsen's confirmation will be a crucial turning point in President Obama's first term. If the Republicans and their Right Wing allies are able to prevent her from taking office, they'll have demonstrated an ability to block any nomination for the most craven, partisan reasons.”

Even with 58 Democratic senators, the GOP can still stage a filibuster, and that's exactly what they're threatening. We can't afford for this issue to remain under the radar."

____________

I read the GOP also threaten to filibuster if the DOJ releases today's torture memos. They are blackmailing Congress and the Administration. It’s vital the media cover this.

[bubbuh]

They're closing the Office of Bush Propaganda? Okay.

[BillMelater]

I hate it when they link in articles that require a login account.

[plooger]

Yes, it can be annoying. But you better get used to it, as newspapers try to find ways to recoup costs.

And it's not like the NYTimes charges for its content, at present; they're just asking that you have a login.

[nubret2008]

Talking a bout fascism...

[truesteam]

I am scratching my head.

I thought propaganda out of the Presidential office was illegal.

[publanski]

Nothing the president does is illegal. Just ask Bush.

[FrozenNorthObserver]

or Obie.

[Shashi0224]

Bush and his cronies, the republican party......their abuse of the ignorant....(tea baggers) and hateful (tea baggers), has got to be THE biggest threat to our country.....worse than terrorism because it's a cancer that grows within.......
Luckily, we are now in the treatment phase. There may be setbacks as the MSM is corporate owned and hate and ignorance in the few is very deep and very ugly......but, with knowledge, information, science and healthcare advancements, we will beat the disease known as the republican party of today and the last 20 years.
Then, and only then, when their hate is lessened, their ignorance irradicated, only then will the republican party of old....the Eisenhower types, thrive. Then, America's healthy balance will be restored.
Until then, we need to keep watch, have early detection and take our vitamins!!

[damilitantone]

Hear, Hear!

[obamagal]

Shashi,

As I read your comment, this jumped out at me:

"Luckily, we are now in the treatment phase. ..."

I had just read an article by Kathleen Turner about how the GOP is attempting (and in many cases, succeeding) in preventing Congress and the Administration to 'clean house' from the abuses under Bush. I wrote a post above, citing Kathleen's article. In keeping with what you wrote, however, are the first two paragraphs, which are especially pertinent:

~snip~

"When George W. Bush left office, it felt like everyone breathed a sigh of relief. After eight hard years, it seemed that sanity had returned to our country and, once again, the rule of law would reign supreme.

For those of us who believed that the dark days of President Bush's lawbreaking were behind us, it has been a rude awakening to see how stridently the GOP has attacked Dawn Johnsen, President Obama's nominee to clean up the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice."

The GOP cannot, must not, be allowed to black.mail the new Administration.

[gladys46]

Does that include FOX noise offices !!?

[damilitantone]

I like this site, but folks trumpet a lot of stories as if they are breaking news. Each story should be preceded by the phrase: "The fringe radical unpatriotic and unamerican left wing conspiracy theorists who accused the Bush Administration of all kinds of illegal and unethical activities were once again proven right.' Then report whatever the new revelation is that many of us already knew and had been saying for years.

[bubbuh]

Perhaps, you could just chant that to youeself before you read each story.

[plooger]

Silly person. You probably think all this talk of "accountability" should apply not just to the banks and auto companies but to the journalism community, as well.

[grata2ude]

Just got back from a teabagging did ya?

[liminal67]

Surprise...surprise..

http://pitchbendpost.blogspot.com/

[felisa11]

the fact is that Pres. Obama is going to have to do a clean sweep of all the moles that cheney left from every department.. that is a full time job in and of itself.

[TParrish]

Start with ALL graduates of Regent University

[Havnagudtim]

AMEN. Root'em out and sterilize them before they can reproduce.

[FrozenNorthObserver]

why get rid of them? O seems to agree with all things Che ney.