US won't end practice of planting paid-for stories

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060303/pl_afp/usiraqmilitarymedia

General won't end practice of planting paid-for stories

Fri Mar 3, 1:00 PM ET

The top US commander in Iraq said he does not intend to end the military's practice of paying to place favorable stories in the Iraqi press.

General George Casey said an investigation found that the military had acted "within our authorities and responsibilities" in planting paid-for stories in the press through a contractor.

Asked if he planned to stop the practice, Casey said, "I have not done that. And, right now, based on the results of the investigation, I do not intend to, in the near term."

"However, we will continue to evaluate this over time as the situation on the ground here evolves," he said.

The Lincoln Group, a Washington-based contractor, paid Iraqi newspapers to run hundreds of stories without disclosing that they were prepared by military "information operations" troops.

The army also was reported to have paid Iraqi journalists through a Baghdad press group for positive stories about the US military.

The disclosure of the secret propaganda operation touched a heated debate here over whether the military should be paying to plant stories when US policy is to promote a free press in Iraq.

An admiral on Casey's staff was appointed to review the program.

Rear Admiral Scott Van Buskirk's investigation, which is now being wrapped up, will make some procedural recommendations, but concluded the military acted properly, Casey said.

It comes as the US Special Forces Command is embarking on a separate 300 million dollar campaign to influence foreign public opinion, and the Pentagon is rethinking the way it communicates to the public.

In a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York last month, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld praised the US command in Iraq for seeking "non-traditional means" to counter enemy disinformation.

He complained that critical press coverage of the program to pay for stories had had a "chilling effect" on military public affairs that stifles innovation.

 

They are both bad.