U.S. Military Has No Problem with Propaganda

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Image from the Lincoln Group website

The New York Times reports that the U.S. military's review of a PR firm's covert propaganda program in Iraq, led by Rear Adm. Scott Van Buskirk, has been completed but not made public. According to military officials, "The findings are narrow in focus, and conclude that the Lincoln Group committed no legal violations because its actions in paying to place American [information operations troops]-written articles without attribution were not expressly prohibited by its contract or military rules." The report "did not deal deeply" with such issues as how the small, young, well-connected firm received large government contracts, or whether its work was effective. It also did not address how, "in a modern information world connected by satellite television and the Internet, misleading information and lies could easily migrate into American news outlets." The Lincoln Group's Iraq work, on "a contract estimated at several million dollars," remains "fully in effect." The firm continues to bid for U.S. government contracts.