War Propaganda

The New York Times published a major expose yesterday of the propaganda efforts by the Pentagon to promote the Iraq war to the American public. After winning a lawsuit where the Times demanded secret documentation about publicity efforts, a front-page article documented an orchestrated campaign to use opinion leaders on leading news outlets to shape public opinion.

In summary, the Pentagon gave special access and privileges to a select group of military analysts who were used by CNN, Fox News, and other outlets to provide commentary on the war. The analysts got an intense inside glimpse of the government’s military operations, including government paid trips to Iraq and other sites, and were given talking points and media strategies to help bolster public opinion about war efforts. In return, many of them secured important contracts with media outlets and in many cases used their insider status to secure billion-dollar contracts as suppliers to the war effort. A senior aide working on the project, Brent Krueger, told the Times that the effort was designed so that military analysts would be “writing the op-ed” for the war.

At some point in the Pentagon war communications effort it is clear that public relations strategies drifted from advocacy to propaganda. Some of the “military analysts” admit that they had serious doubts about the war operation but did not express them publicly because their financial interests were too important. Others claim they stayed quiet about their doubts because they prioritized keeping the public enthusiastic over the need for full disclosure. One commentator was immediately cut off from the Pentagon when he criticized the administration. News outlets have been embarrassed by the ordeal; CNN admitted it did not perform due diligence in ensuring that its commentators did not have a personal interest in the subject matter. ABC issued a strained statement that avoided directly dealing with the expose, and Fox News refused to comment.

Media veteran Torie Clarke is at the center of the scandal; she headed communications strategies for Donald Rumsfeld and is credited with creating the strategy. Clarke is a long-time Republican operative, and has personally supported candidates like Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter. She used to work for John McCain.

Clarke wrote a book, “Lipstick on a Pig, Winning in the No Spin Era”. She appeared on the Jon Stewart Show in 2006 to promote her book. Stewart asked her about what “no spin” meant to her.

Stewart: “When you say the no spin era, in what world?”

Clarke: “Our world. Think about how fast information rockets around the world, think about the millions of people that watch your show, and its just all instantaneous. The bad stuff can’t hide, it just can’t hide anywhere.”

Stewart: “When you say bad stuff, you mean lying or massaging or…”

Clarke: “All of the above.”

Stewart: “You’re saying it can’t work. ”

Clarke: “Yeah, I’ve never really subscribed to it myself, never really tried it myself, and in this era it just doesn’t work.”

Stewart (incredulously): “You’ve worked for Donald Rumsfeld”.

The Washington Post covered the expose in its Style section today. Howard Kurtz, who also hosts the CNN program “Reliable Sources” , wrote in the Post that “What has been obscured is the extent to which [military pundits] are still part of the military’s web and entangled with companies trying to milk the Pentagon for profit.”