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| Religion Forum Index » Christian Orthodox Forum » The Bush "Propaganda Machine" - Like Hitler!... |
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| nickk - not the imposter... |
 Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 11:49 am |
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Published on Thursday, November 5, 2009 by Raw Story
Pentagon Pursuing New Investigation Into Bush Propaganda Program
by Brad Jacobson
The Pentagon's Office of Inspector General is conducting a new
investigation into a covert Bush administration Defense Department
program that used retired military analysts to produce positive
wartime news coverage.
Last May, the Inspector General's office rescinded and repudiated a
prior internal investigation's report on the retired military analyst
program, which had been issued by the Bush administration, because it
"did not meet accepted quality standards for an Inspector General work
product." Yet in recent interviews with Raw Story, Pentagon officials
who took part in the program were still defending it by referencing
this invalidated report.
Gary Comerford, Inspector General spokesman for the Defense
Department, told Raw Story last week that his office is conducting an
investigation into the retired military analyst program and confirmed
that the investigation began during the summer.
Asked when his office expects to conclude the investigation, Comerford
said, "As a matter of policy we do not set deadlines since any number
of variables or factors could result in a delay."
He did confirm that investigators in his office have read Raw Story's
recent articles on the topic.
Congressman John F. Tierney (D-MA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on
National Security and Foreign Affairs, issued a press release (cache
link) this past June, announcing that Pentagon Inspector General
Gordon Heddell had begun the new investigation.
Yet Raw Story and Comerford could find no other news outlet that has
yet reported on the matter.
Rep. Tierney confirmed that Inspector General Heddell had reassured
him that he was continuing to pursue a new investigation.
"I spoke with Gordon Heddell about his investigation of the DOD
‘Pentagon Pundits' program yesterday, and he assured me that his
office is making good progress on its investigation," Tierney said in
a recent statement to Raw Story. "I again expressed my expectation
that his office pursue this investigation with all diligence and
speed."
"I look forward to receiving updates on his progress as well as his
final report," Tierney added. "I, along with my staff, will remain in
close contact with the IG's office as the investigation continues."
Pentagon officials defend program by citing rescinded report
Former Pentagon public affairs chief Lawrence Di Rita and current
deputy assistant secretary of defense for media operations Bryan
Whitman continue to defend the retired military analyst program by
referencing the discredited Pentagon Inspector General's report
released in the final days of the Bush administration.
In an interview with Raw Story, Di Rita, now a chief spokesperson for
Bank of America, called the Pentagon propaganda project "an important
program" and asserted that "there's nothing related to it that's worth
talking about" because the "IG's report debunked" and "utterly
invalidated" the findings of David Barstow's New York Times expose.
Di Rita then incorrectly suggested that this investigation and report
had been conducted and released by the Obama administration.
In fact, the Inspector General's report that Di Rita cited as evidence
exonerating the program and discrediting Barstow's reporting was not
only later rescinded after an internal audit but also removed from the
Defense Department's website.
In a May 5, 2009 memorandum, Pentagon Inspector General deputy
director Donald Horstman wrote, "The internal review concluded that
the report did not meet accepted quality standards for an Inspector
General work product." It found inadequacies in "the methodology used
to examine RMA [retired military analysts] relationships with Defense
contractors" and "a body of testimonial evidence that was insufficient
or inconclusive."
"In particular," Horstman added, "former senior DoD officials who
devised and managed the outreach program refused our requests for an
interview" and that only "7 out of 70" military analysts were
interviewed during the investigation.
Investigators also failed to interview retired Army General and
military analyst Barry McCaffrey, the conspicuous subject of David
Barstow's 5,000-plus-word follow-up Times expose on the military
analyst program, whom Barstow proved "consistently advocated wartime
policies and spending priorities that are in line with his corporate
interests."
In the internal audit's conclusion, Horstman stated expressly, "We are
notifying you of the withdrawal of this report so that you do not
continue to rely on its conclusions. The report has been removed from
our website."
Nevertheless, Di Rita flatly denied these facts when Raw Story brought
them to his attention.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman -- who Raw Story revealed was a
senior official and active participant in the program - also attempted
to downplay the Bush Pentagon's report's inaccuracies and omissions.
He failed as well to acknowledge that the document has been
invalidated.
Additionally, Whitman reaffirmed his assertion that the "intent and
purpose of the [program] is nothing other than an earnest attempt to
inform the American people."
In defending the program, Whitman also cited the Government
Accountability Office's report, which was released last July.
The report acknowledged that "[c]learly, DOD attempted to favorably
influence public opinion with respect to the Administration's war
policies in Iraq and Afghanistan through the RMOs [retired military
officers]," but "did not violate the ban" against domestic propaganda.
A central supporting point for drawing that conclusion, however, was
"[w]e found no evidence that DOD attempted to conceal from the public
its outreach to RMOs or its role in providing RMOs with information,
materials, access to department officials, travel, and luncheons."
The key evidence cited to support this conclusion was an April 2006
New York Times article, "Pentagon Memo Aims to Counter Rumsfeld
Critics," which was based on a leak.
The article noted that the memorandum had been sent to "a group of
former military commanders and civilian analysts," offering "a direct
challenge to the criticisms made by retired generals about Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld."
But much of the article's focus was fixed on the political drama
swirling around Rumsfeld's fight to retain his job amid a growing
firestorm of criticism.
In fact, Defense Department officials at the time, such as then-press
secretary Eric Ruff, rushed to spike any notion that the Pentagon had
fed military analysts talking points. The idea that there might be an
elaborate, systematic Pentagon talking points operation involving the
retired generals was never specifically raised in the article.
Ruff told the Times the memo was simply a "fact sheet" and that, as
the Times paraphrased Ruff saying, "In no way was it meant to enlist
retired officers to speak out on behalf of Rumsfeld."
Mazzetti and Rutenberg reported: "One retired general who regularly
attends the Pentagon meetings said Saturday that he found it unusual
for the Pentagon to send such a memorandum in the middle of a heated
debate, because it was almost certain to appear politically
motivated."
This account also suggested to readers that supplying Pentagon-
approved talking points for the retired generals to disseminate on the
airwaves would have been out of the ordinary when, in fact, records
would later show that's exactly what was happening.
Records would also eventually reveal Pentagon officials working behind-
the-scenes to stamp out this fire before it had time to spread and to
ensure that it could be contained.
In an email (p. 117) the day after the Times article was published,
Dallas Lawrence, then director of the community relations office,
warned a colleague (whose name is redacted) that "this is very very
sensitive now. I need you to be protected. This email directly
contradicts something Larry [Di Rita] said to a reporter, you'd have
no way of knowing that unless you checked with me."
When the Defense Department's Office of the Inspector General issued
the May memorandum invalidating the Bush Pentagon's investigation of
the military analyst program, it also noted that no further probe
would occur because the program "has been terminated and responsible
senior officials are no longer employed by the Department."
Yet Raw Story's months-long investigation has revealed that some
"responsible senior officials," including Whitman, are still employed
by the Defense Department and that the retired military analyst
program may not have been terminated. |
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