Fake "News" About Russian Invasion Sparks Panic

Anne Landman — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:49:52 -0400

A pro-government television station in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia broadcast a fake, half-hour news report depicting a Russian military invasion of the country, sending fear and panic throughout Georgian citizens. The station called the broadcast a "simulation" of what a new invasion might look like. In August, 2008 Russian tanks, troops and armored vehicles invaded Georgia after Georgian troops attacked pro-Russian separatists in the breakaway republic of South Ossetia. The fake news show used footage of Georgians fleeing that 2008 conflict, and sound bites from Russian presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Throughout the broadcast, a news anchor provided "updates" saying Russian forces had bombed a military base and an airport in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, and reported on the number of deaths. The broadcast ended with a note that the events were not real, but the station did not run any on-screen notes during the rest of the show to make viewers aware that what they were watching wasn't real. Two hours after the show, the TV station ran an apology.

First Blackwater, Then Xe, and Now Paravant: Still Armed and Dangerous

Anne Landman — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:05:35 -0500

The private military contractor Blackwater -- which rebranded itself as "Xe" in February, 2009 to distance itself from negative incidents like the September, 2007 shooting in Baghdad's Nisoor Square that killed at least a dozen people -- has created a shell company called "Paravant" to try and keep winning lucrative government military contracts. Both Paravant and Xe are owned by Eric Prince, owner of Blackwater. Paravant won contracts to operate in Afghanistan without identifying its affiliation with Blackwater/Xe to the U.S. government. Paravant has been operating as a subcontractor to global defense contractor Raytheon, but the new name and hidden identity haven't changed Blackwater/Xe/Paravant's behavior. In September, 2008, a Paravant employee signed out more than 500 AK-47 assault rifles from a bunker in Afghanistan that held weapons designated for the Afghan National Police and Army. The employee signed the weapons out using the name "Eric Cartman," the racist, obnoxious character from the cable TV cartoon "South Park." The rifles were signed out even though employees had been denied permission to carry weapons on several occasions. Some of the weapons were still unaccounted for for months afterward. Two days after the rifles were taken from the bunker, a Paravant contractor shot another contractor in the head after his AK-47 accidentally discharged.

It's the New, Improved Iraq War!

Anne Landman — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 02:11:18 -0500

The Pentagon is formally rebranding the Iraq war by changing its name from "Operation Iraqi Freedom" to the sunnier "Operation New Dawn," to reflect the reduced role the American military is supposed to have in that country over the next year. The new name is scheduled to go into effect in September, 2010.The more optimistic moniker comes after months of deadly bombings in Iraq, and after an aide to the governor of Iraq's Anbar province, Khari Abdul Hadi, expressed "resignation bordering on despair" about the latest bombings in the province, according to the New York Times. The re-naming of the war to "Operation New Dawn" happens during the same week that the U.S. military launched a major new assault in Afghanistan, and after the Obama administration unveiled a military budget of unprecedented proportions.

Trijicon to Stop Putting Biblical References on Gun Sights

Anne Landman — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:17:35 -0500

Trijicon, which manufactures gun sights used by the U.S. Military, responded to international outcry and Pentagon concerns by saying it will immediately stop engraving biblical references on gun sights it sells to the military, and will provide the military with 100 free kits to remove existing biblical codes from guns it has already purchased. Guns in the military that currently carry the religious inscriptions may number in the tens of thousands. The Al Jazeera news service in Afghanistan reported that guns bearing Christian references had been provided to some Afghan troops, and that this would provide the Taliban is a propaganda coup. Trijicon, which boasts of its Christian roots on its Web site, has an ongoing contract with the U.S. Marine Corps worth $600 million.

Secret Jesus Codes on U.S. Military Weapons

Anne Landman — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:08:56 -0500

ABC News revealed that Trijicon, the company that provides high-powered rifle sights to the U.S. military, inscribes the sights with coded references to biblical texts about Jesus Christ. The company inscribes the codes immediately after the model number, in the same font and type size. For example, "2COR4:6" points to Second Corinthians chapter 4, verse 6 of the New Testament, which reads, "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of the darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Another code, "JN8:12," refers to John chapter 8, verse 12, which reads, "Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Trijicon confirms that it intentionally adds biblical codes to gun sights it sells to the U.S. military, which in turn uses the guns in Iraq and Afghanistan, even though members of the U.S military are strictly prohibited from proselytizing. Michael "Mikey" Weinstein, a former Air Force officer who represents the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a group that advocates for separation of church and state in the U.S. military, says the practice violates the Constitution. "This is probably the best example of violation of the separation of church and state in this country," Weinstein said. "It's literally pushing fundamentalist Christianity at the point of a gun against the people that we're fighting ... it allows the Mujahadeen, the Taliban, al Qaeda and the insurrectionists and jihadists to claim they're being shot by Jesus rifles ..." In 2005, Trijicon won a $660 million, long-term contract to supply the scopes to the Marine Corps. Spokespeople for the Army and the Marine Corps denied knowing about the biblical markings, even though numerous discussions have appeared about them in Internet talk forums and on YouTube since 2006.

From "Star Wars" to Darfur

Bob Burton — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:14:36 -0500

Qatar has signed a $2.47 million contract (pdf) with Robert McFarlane's lobbying firm, McFarlane Associates to "sponsor and organize a peace process to resolve the conflict in Darfur and secure peace throughout Sudan." Under the contract, McFarlane is required to assist the government of Qatar in "facilitating additional agreements between the Government of Sudan in Khartoum and all marginalized ethnic groups in Sudan and the secure the assistance of respected U.S. third-parties towards this objective." Since May, McFarlane's firm has been paid (pdf) $1.23 million. McFarlane, who was National Security Advisor to President Ronald Reagan, was a promoter of the "Strategic Defense Initiative," which was also referred to as the "Star Wars" missile defense system.

U.S. Drone Strikes: A Propaganda Bonanza for the Taliban?

Anne Landman — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:50:57 -0400

A recently-released study from the New America Foundation finds that after inheriting the drone program from President George W. Bush, President Obama has dramatically escalated the number of unmanned air strikes in Pakistan by U.S. Predator and Reaper drones. The U.S. has made 43 strikes in Pakistan in 2009 -- only two of which occurred while Bush was still in office -- compared to 34 in all of 2008. While the drones have eliminated some top terrorist targets, there is concern that the robotic strikes are alienating Pakistani citizens and handing devastating propaganda victories to the Taliban, which uses each strike, and its associated killing of innocent civilians -- to drive up popular outrage against the U.S. The Foundation's study estimates that since 2006, drone strikes have killed between 750 and 1,000 Pakistani civilians. America's top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, in his August assessment of the war, wrote, "Pre-occupied with protection of our own forces, we have operated in a manner that distances us -- physically and psychologically -- from the people we seek to protect. ... In addition, we run the risk of strategic defeat by pursuing tactical wins that cause civilian casualties or unnecessary collateral damage. The insurgents cannot defeat us militarily, but we can defeat ourselves."

The Pentagon's New Multi-Lingual Web

Diane Farsetta — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:20:25 -0400

The U.S. Special Operations Command awarded General Dynamics Information Technology a $10.1 million contract to build the "Trans Regional Web Initiative." The project will include "a minimum of two and no more than twelve websites" in languages such as Arabic, French, English, Chinese, Farsi, Russian, Urdu and Malay / Indonesian, in support of U.S. military "combatant commands." General Dynamics is tasked with recruiting a "network of native / indigenous content contributors with backgrounds in politics, academics, security, culture, entertainment, and other aspects of the Global War on Terror, which appeal to identified foreign target audiences." The project's goal is to develop "rapid, on-order global dissemination of Web-based influence products and tools in support of strategic and long-term U.S. Government goals and objectives." Network World notes that "conducting a war of words is a hot topic." In July, the Air Force awarded a $29.7 million contract to BBN, "to develop a prototype machine reading system" intended to allow artificial intelligence systems to "gather and analyze information from the Web."

Propaganda Versus the Power of the Purse

Diane Farsetta — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:04:31 -0400

The U.S. Congress is alarmed at the Pentagon's "information operations" programs, including efforts to win "hearts and minds" in Iraq and Afghanistan. The House Appropriations Committee criticized the Defense Department's fiscal year 2010 budget request for including "alarmingly non-military propaganda, public relations, and behavioral modification messaging." The committee noted that spending on 10 "strategic communications programs" has skyrocketed from $9 million in 2005 to a "staggering $988 million request for fiscal 2010." The committee responded by cutting $500 million from the Pentagon's strategic communications budget and threatening to withhold more funding until Defense Secretary Robert Gates informs the committee about their "target audiences, goals, and measures of effectiveness." The Senate Armed Services Committee also asked the Pentagon for additional information on its "objectives and funding levels for strategic communications and public diplomacy" for 2011. Meanwhile, the House Armed Services Committee slammed the Pentagon's strategic communications planning as "insufficient," and directed Gates to report on "the skills needed, both military and civilian personnel on hand who are capable, and the number of contractors being used." However, the House Armed Services Committee also called the Pentagon "overly cautious" in trying to keep propaganda from U.S. audiences, saying its "online strategic communications" should be expanded, "even if they can be accessed in the United States."

Pentagon Propaganda Gets a Pass

Diane Farsetta — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:25:02 -0400

Is there a difference between covert propaganda and secretive campaigns to shape public opinion on controversial issues? The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) apparently thinks that there is.

The GAO recently ruled that the Pentagon pundit program did not break the law against taxpayer-funded domestic propaganda. The program involved some 75 retired military officers who serve as frequent media commentators. From 2002 to 2008, the Pentagon set up meetings between the pundits and high-level Department of Defense (DOD) officials. The Pentagon's PR staff not only gave the pundits talking points, but helped them draft opinion columns and gave them feedback on their media appearances. The Pentagon also paid for the pundits to travel overseas, following carefully-scripted itineraries designed to highlight successes in Iraq and humane measures at the Guantanamo Bay detention center.

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