A Guide to NYT Bombshell on Military/Media Propaganda

By now you have probably heard about what might be the mainstream news article in recent weeks, the front-page David Barstow epic in today's New York Times on how the Pentagon, starting in 2002, assembled a crew of retired military officers to disseminate propaganda via all-too-willing network and cable news outlets. I can't begin to summarize or do justice to this report here, you will simply have to follow the link below. Barstow aptly refers to this as "a kind of media trojan horse."

Even if it confirms what you have already sensed -- you are no dummies -- the details are truly damning and shocking. (More Orwell than oh, well.) And it continues up to the present day, with the revelation that Gen. Petraeus met with members of this propaganda group just two weeks ago -- he had met with them previously, as well. "Anything we can do to help," one analyst described this most recent meeting.

No wonder the analysts were considered "message-force multipliers."

But to get you started, a few points to keep in mind:

-- The article has at least three tracks: One, the Pentagon deploying the analysts (some 75 in number) and the TV outlets happy to run with them; two, the analysts' further conflict-of-interest in being tied to defense contractors with billions of dollars invested in the war effort; three, the complete lack of interest by the TV outlets in either of the first two connections, or ignoring what they did know. In fact, the networks raised no objections to the Pentagon paying for trips by the analysts.

-- The effort began in "selling the war" -- going where even Judy Miller feared to tread -- and there are some startling admissions by some team members that they knew they were being sold a fairy tale on WMD, but went along with it anyway. The moral bankruptcy is truly disgusting.

-- One analyst who did dare to criticize the Pentagon in one TV appearance was summarily kicked off the propaganda bus. In fact, the others followed the Pentagon talking points to the letter -- almost to the word. Some analysts doubted what they were told, or knew certain facts were wrong, but never shared this with viewers. The Pentagon kept amazingly close tabs on everything the analysts said, from small radio outlets to Fox News, and let them know when they started to stray.

-- The Pentagon helped two of them craft a Wall Street Journal piece. Barstow calls the overall program "a symbiotic relationship where the usual dividing lines between government and journalism have been obliterated."

-- Besides helping the companies they were tied to, some of the analysts also got $500 to $1000 per appearance on TV. Rest easy, Gen. Wesley Clark was not on the official Pentagon team.

-- While the focus of the article is very much on the TV propaganda (Fox News, of course, way in the lead) the New York Times admits that it published "at least" nine op-eds by the propagandists. And that paper, and all the other leading newspapers, quoted members of the group often. I'll be looking into that angle myself starting now, as a natural sequel to my book on Iraq and the media. Here's my first take: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003791666

-- The Pentagon briefings for the propaganda crew are still going on, weekly.

-- Don't miss the Times' lavish "interactive" features with the piece online.

I'll leave off here so you can actually go to the article.
Click here for the NYT piece.

UPDATE: Barstow is answering questions at Times' site right now (Monday).

Greg Mitchell's new book is So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President -- Failed on Iraq. It features a preface by Bruce Springsteen and has been hailed by, Bill Moyers, Glenn Greenwald, Arianna Huffington and others.

Comments

[RadicalWhig]

I was shocked to read this:
-------
On Tuesday, April 18 [2006], some 17 analysts assembled at the Pentagon with Mr. Rumsfeld and General Pace, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

A transcript of that session, never before disclosed, shows a shared determination to marginalize war critics and revive public support for the war.

. . .

"Frankly," one participant said, "from a military point of view, the penalty, 2,400 brave Americans whom we lost, 3,000 in an hour and 15 minutes, is relative."
------
The context is not clear, but this appears to be the logic of "collateral damage," applied to the 9/11 victims. I would like to know who said this and the full context.

[callit]

The very fact that people can read this story and say "so what?" is a sad indicator of the state of our democracy.

[GoodwithWood]

So when do these people get charged and tried for TREASON???

[Betrayedcitizen]

These people are beneath contempt. Traitors so ugly that it makes my blood boil.

I just viewed the "Frontline" program on Global Warming and our governments squelching the scientists since 1998. Bush and Cheney and his Energy Summits were mortal sins against humanity.

So just as Rush Limbaugh used to prop Enron he has done their dirty work on this huge lie.

How much can a nation take?

The War, The currency debasement, massive illigal immigration, Corruption on Wall Street and with our Federal Reserve in cahoots. The areas of deceit are too numerous to mention.

So now one should be able to see why Osama Bin Laden has been free to roam arround the country.........

What a congress, what contemptible pigs!

[tomsemioli]

This story was reported YEARS AGO on Democracy Now by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. YEARS AGO!

[GoodwithWood]

Michael Moore Reported O Walter Reed years before some east coast paper did and the paper won an award for it. WTF?

[andyboy]

Hey we have to get the "good news" somehow.

Is this part of the liberal media?

[andyboy]

The President has very broad powers during wartime.

[andyboy]

-- The Pentagon helped two of them craft a Wall Street Journal piece. Barstow calls the overall program "a symbiotic relationship where the usual dividing lines between government and journalism have been obliterated."

I hate to say I told you so. But I did predict this several times on these pages. It was too obvious.

[RHR]

I feel the need to call out one of the ARCHITECTS of this strategy, Torie Clarke, known mostly as Victoria during her work at the Pentagon (a second go 'round).

She was the former mouthpiece for the National Cable Telecommunications Association and while in this paid position found her way onto the Sunday chat shows to forward Bush administration goals. I was disgusted when I saw her appearance - - and somewhat surprised as I'd thought she was a true professional (up to that point).

With this lapse of ethics we should not be surprised to find that she was behind a strategy to groom military analysts as a propaganda machine.

[stillfresh]

'SCOOZE ME! THIS IS THE BIGGEST (ALL CAPS BY DESIGN) STORY TODAY. IT DESERVES MORE THAN A SECOND-TIER COMMENTARY. IS THE HUFFINGTON POST PART OF THE "INFORMATIONAL DOMINANCE" PROBLEM REPORTED IN THE NYT STORY? AGAIN, BIG, BIGGER, BIGGEST STORY TO EXPLAIN OUR SOCIETY AND WHY WE'VE HAD BUSH AS "PRESIDENT" FOR EIGHT YEARS. DON'T YOU PEOPLE GET IT? WE'VE BEEN PLAYED!!!!

[andyboy]

stillfresh,

They could have at least put it in all CAPS!

[libbyshaw]

The Republican Party is even more corrupt than we suspected. The mainstream media stopped doing its job when Bush was appointed by the Supreme Court in 2000. Except for a few anchors and journalists we have few professional unbiased and balanced reporters. Fox is merely the propaganda arm for the Bush Administration. This is precisely why this middle aged old yellow dog Dem has fled to the Internet and blogsphere for news. The media has little credibility where I am concerned. The Bush Administration and Republican Party have none. They are nothing put a bunch of corrupted crooks and sell-outs to the American people. So are their enablers in the media. All of them should be tried for treason.

[edva]

Hey Pelosi, is imprisonment also off the table?

[nivek]

"Under the spreading chestnut tree, I sold you and you sold me."

[pbfishtaco]

EWWW look at all the little critters that came crawling out from under that rock. They don't like daylight. They like it under there.
Thanks, Greg Mitchell, and NYT. Keep on atoning for Judith Miller!
Next up, please keep up the heat on the Sigelman/Justice Dept. Issue!

[Rescisco]

That anyone is "surprised" by this tactic is an indication of just why it was so successful. Surely we should have known or at least suspected this all along. I did, and I ain't that smart (I am really, but I'm trying to be humble here).

[normathumb]

Working hand in glove, these are the guys who were telling us the war would take "months not years". These were the guys who fired Shinseki for stating the obvious about troop strength while desparraging the Powell doctrine, and Powell himself went along for the ride. These are the guys who told us they knew where the WMD"s were. Goddam, lieing, bought and paid for, co-conspirators who are still informing the public through the same media channels and insisting there is nothing wrong. Next thing you know, they will be telling us they make the trains run on time.