Military's news-planting service (New York Times)

[Ted Nelson]

Military's Information War Is Vast and Often Secretive
By JEFF GERTH
The media center in Fayetteville, N.C., would be the envy of any global
communications company.

In state of the art studios, producers prepare the daily mix of music
and
news for the group's radio stations or spots for friendly television
outlets. Writers putting out newspapers and magazines in Baghdad and
Kabul
converse via teleconferences. Mobile trailers with high-tech gear are
parked outside, ready for the next crisis.

The center is not part of a news organization, but a military operation,
and those writers and producers are soldiers. The 1,200-strong
psychological operations unit based at Fort Bragg turns out what its
officers call "truthful messages" to support the United States
government's
objectives, though its commander acknowledges that those stories are
one-sided and their American sponsorship is hidden.

"We call our stuff information and the enemy's propaganda," said Col.
Jack
N. Summe, then the commander of the Fourth Psychological Operations
Group,
during a tour in June. Even in the Pentagon, "some public affairs
professionals see us unfavorably," and inaccurately, he said, as "lying,
dirty tricksters."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/politics/11propaganda.html?ei=5090&en=3b298
30b7c656c93&ex=1291957200&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print

Cheers,T


________________________________________________
Theodor Holm Nelson, Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute
 University of Oxford, 1 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3JS, UK
V. Professor, U. Southampton; V. Fellow, Wadham College
Founder, Project Xanadu (the first hypertext project), 1960+
 ?  e-mail: tandm at xanadu.net  ?  http://ted.hyperland.com,
     ?  xanadu.com  ?  translit.org  ?  transcopyright.org
 ?  world-wide phone and fax  +1/908-847-0264
_________________________________________________



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