A Comical Attempt to Win Young Hearts and Minds [1]
Submitted by Diane Farsetta [2] on
Want to earn up to $2.4 million [3] to produce and distribute across Iraq 12 issues of a comic book designed to "highlight the professionalism of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) and to enhance the public perception of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) as a capable, well-trained, and professional fighting force"? Well, you'll have to compete with the Lincoln Group [4], the PR firm that previously placed U.S. propaganda [5] in Iraqi newspapers. Last year, the "sole source contract for the 6th Brigade Comic Book went to the Lincoln Group," reports Sharon Weinberger. The comics seem to be a continuation of a project that the Center for Media and Democracy noted back in 2005 [6], when U.S. PsyOps [7] troops were working on "initial character and plot development" for the series. Everyone from the United Nations [8] to the Business Software Alliance [9] has used comics to target young audiences. Wired [10] points out that the U.S. Army also distributes comics in the Philippines, to get an anti-terror, pro-miltiary message to the youth of the country's Sulu islands.