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U.S. wages information war in Iraq
The military has been paying Iraqi newspapers to run positive articles about the coalition.
By wire services
Published December 1, 2005
WASHINGTON - Positive articles about the war in Iraq written by U.S. troops have been appearing in Iraqi newspapers under the guise of independent journalism, part of a coordinated effort by the U.S. military to win over Iraqi civilians, according to military officials.
Officers in Iraq say the program is an essential element of an "information war" against an insurgency adept at spreading its message through local and international media, largely with violent acts. The newspaper articles promote the positive aspects of the U.S.-led coalition's work and encourage Iraqis to take part in the burgeoning democracy.
"This is a military program to help get factual information about ongoing operations into Iraqi news," said Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a military spokesman in Baghdad. "Because this is part of our ongoing operations and an important part of countering misinformation in the news by insurgents, I can't provide details of what that entails. I want to emphasize that all information used for marketing these stories is completely factual."
The program has been run out of the Multinational Corps commanded by Lt. Gen. John Vines in Baghdad, with the help of a Washington-based contractor, Lincoln Group. The company translates the articles and markets them to Iraqi media outlets without indicating the material came from the U.S. military.
The effort was disclosed Wednesday by the Los Angeles Times , which reported that some of the articles were placed in Iraqi newspapers after people presenting themselves as independent writers paid the publications.
Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said that officials are looking into the matter and that "some things about it, if true, are a bit troubling." Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said on MSNBC's Hardball program that his panel would look into the matter "because I'm concerned that our credibility abroad is very important."
Media experts decried the practice of paying to plant articles by the military as undermining the newly emerging free press in Iraq.
"In the very process of preventing misinformation from another side, they are creating misinformation through a process that disguises the source for information that is going out," said John Schulz, dean of Boston University's College of Communications and a veteran journalist. "You can't be creating a model for democracy while subverting one of its core principles, a free independent press."
Clerics call for release of hostages
BAGHDAD - An influential Sunni clerical group called Wednesday for the release, on humanitarian grounds, of five Westerners taken hostage in a grim revival of the kidnappings that shook Iraq last year.
The Association of Muslim Scholars is believed to have contacts with some Sunni insurgent groups and has helped mediate the releases of other captives in Iraq. The association said freeing them would recognize their "good efforts in helping those in need."
The five include four aid workers from the group Christian Peacemaker Teams - Tom Fox, 54, of Clearbrook, Va.; Norman Kember, 74, of London; and James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, of Canada - and German archaeologist Susanne Osthoff, 43.
U.S., Iraqi troops conduct operation
U.S. and Iraqi troops launched a joint operation Wednesday in an area west of Baghdad used to rig car bombs, while American soldiers rounded up 33 suspected insurgents in a sweep of southern parts of Baghdad.
About 500 Iraqi troops joined 2,000 U.S. Marines, soldiers and sailors in a move to clear insurgents from an area on the eastern side of the Euphrates river near Hit, 85 miles west of Baghdad, the U.S. command said.
Deadline on torture report passes
Iraq's government missed a two-week deadline Wednesday to complete an investigation into torture allegations at an Interior Ministry lockup, an investigation that Amnesty International warned may show a pattern of abuse.
Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari had promised Nov. 15 that a high-level committee would complete a full investigation within two weeks.
Information from the Washington Post and the Associated Press was used in this report.
[Last modified December 1, 2005, 01:08:09]
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