Getting them to like us

Government Propaganda Case I Military Will Keep Planting Articles in Iraq

The ranking U.S. general there says a Pentagon review found the program does not violate policy. It could be replicated elsewhere. The U.S. military plans to continue paying Iraqi newspapers to publish articles favorable to the United States after an inquiry found no fault with the controversial practice, the top U.S. general in Iraq said Friday. Army Gen. George W. Casey said the internal review had concluded that the U.S. military was not violating U.S. law or Pentagon guidelines with the information operations campaign, in which U.S. troops and a private contractor write pro-American articles and pay to have them planted without attribution in Iraqi media.

Do Gen. Casey and the rest of the Pentagon actually think this type of paid-for propaganda works? It's simply ridiculous to pay Iraqi newspapers to write glowing articles on what's going on over there. Good things are either happening or they're not and the Iraqis aren't dumb enough to think any differently. If it's news and it's true why do you have to act like it's from an Iraqi? And if it's news and it's true, why doesn't an Iraqi write it?