From the Seattle Times:
As part of an information offensive in Iraq, the U.S. military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by U.S. troops in an effort to burnish the image of the U.S. mission in Iraq.The articles, written by U.S. military "information operations" troops, are translated into Arabic and placed in Baghdad newspapers with the help of a defense contractor, according to U.S. military officials and documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
Many of the articles are presented in the Iraqi press as unbiased accounts written and reported by independent journalists. The stories trumpet the work of U.S. and Iraqi troops, denounce insurgents, and tout U.S.-led rebuilding efforts.
While the articles are basically truthful, they present only one side of events and omit information that might reflect poorly on the U.S. or Iraqi governments, officials said. Records and interviews indicate that the U.S. has paid Iraqi newspapers to run dozens of such articles — with headlines such as "Iraqis Insist on Living Despite Terrorism" — since the effort began this year.
The operation is designed to mask any connection with the U.S. military. The Pentagon has a contract with a small Washington, D.C., firm called Lincoln Group, which helps translate and place the stories.
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Comments (5)
To be fair to the administration, and the military, part of the reason behind this move was to battle against Islamist and Iranian funded papers that in many occasions either celebrated the insurgency or called for rebellion against the US.
Additionally, the tactic was used to fight against the insurgency by denoting American and Iraqi successess and goodwill efforts.
That said, it was dumb of them to get caught in such a way. Now positive stories in Iraq will always be subject to questions and intrigue. It is part of the reasons why government propaganda campaigns never work in democracies. The truth eventually finds a way out. If thought of in this way, it says alot about Iraq that something like this can no longer be hidden behind the scenes and presented as objective reporting; transparency is on the march, if you will.
Still, it does raise interesting questions about our role in promoting democratic governance should be (I don't think our job should have ever been to promote democracy per se).
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On a more cynical note, I may add that this is exactly what many here in the US think Fox News is, government fed propaganda. Sad the state of our republic, it is. Perceptions matter, sometimes even more than reality.
Posted by nykrindc | November 30, 2005 3:58 PM
I think this, when considered with other developments in Iraq, raises the question of whether the true aim is Democracy. If Iraq is truely Democratic and open, it is likely that it will slowly turn anti-American. Perhaps the only way an all-out civil war can be prevented by the Iraqis after a U.S. pull out is if a populist Democratic leader is elected on a platform of achieving "independence" from America.
On the other hand, it is obvious that the U.S. is interested in establishing an ally in the region. In the past the U.S. would have just installed a puppet regime. If you give Iraqis a choice, they'll likely vote against U.S. interests, so backhanded methods like funneling money to the media (and probably political campaigns and politicians) is a discreet way of undermining the free society we claim to support.
Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari | November 30, 2005 4:11 PM
My take is a little optimistic. I think Bush truly does believe that the spread of Democracy will bring peace and stability to the Muslim world. While that may be true in the long run, I think you are right in the short run. As such, I've always believed that our task in Iraq was not so much democracy promotion as it was establishing security to allow Iraqis to come up with their own social contract. While this might result in a less democratic and more religious government than we would like, not to mention lightly anti-American, in the long run if it is accepted by Iraqis and viewed as legitimate, it will be easier for iraqis to change and adapt it to changing circumstances (i.e. the impact of globalization).
Posted by nykrindc | November 30, 2005 4:43 PM
TIME TO WAKE UP AND STOP BEING SHEEP, FOR TIME IS NOT ON OUR SIDE ANYMORE. GOVERN YOUR COUNTRY WITH-OUT POLITICIANS OR DICTATORS. WWW.SELFGOVERNMENT.TK
Posted by william realph | July 8, 2006 1:21 AM
GOVERN YOUR COUNTRY WITH-OUT POLITICIANS OR DICTATORS STOP BEING SHEEP. WWW.SELFGOVERNMENT.TK
Posted by william realph | July 8, 2006 1:24 AM