war/peace

Actor Audie Murphy was the most highly-decorated soldier in World War II, from which he later suffered insomnia, depression, and nightmares. Today some people want to use him as a propaganda symbol in support of current wars.Viral emails have emerged as a form of stealth propaganda recently, most noticeably in the recent U.S. presidential campaign, when Barack Obama was dogged with false claims that he was a Muslim, that he was refused to salute the American flag, that he was not a U.S. citizen and so forth. The Washington Post reported earlier this year that Danielle Allen, a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, attempted to trace the chain of one of those emails and found what the Washington Post called "valuable insight into the way political information circulates, mutates and sometimes devastates in the digital age." She noted that the anonymous nature of viral emails, combined with the word-of-mouth way that they spread, makes them hard to counter. "This kind of misinformation campaign short-circuits judgment," she said. "It also aggressively disregards the fundamental principle of free societies that one be able to debate one's accusers."

Recently a friend forwarded me a viral email that has apparently been circulating since at least June of this year. I haven't seen it previously, but a Google search turned up several copies on various websites. This particular viral message was unrelated to Obama or the presidential campaign but carries its own load of rhetoric aimed at shaping public opinion. On the principle that these subterranean propaganda campaigns ought to be openly discussed and exposed, I thought I'd respond to this one publicly.

"Public relations firms across the country predict massive layoffs in the coming months due to recent legislation outlawing the firms' most lucrative practices," according to an article in a spoof edition of the New York Times, dated July 4, 2009. The real Times reports, "In an elaborate hoax, pranksters distributed thousands of copies ... Wednesday morning at busy subway stations around the city." The lead story of the spoof paper is "Iraq War Ends." Other stories detailed similar wonders, including "national health care, a rebuilt economy, progressive taxation, [and] a national oil fund to study climate change." The spoof "special edition" Times is also online, where it 'reports' that "new regulations carefully scrutinize government contracts with for-profit public relations companies. ... The new rules would have forbidden the creation of the National Smokers Alliance, a front group formed by Philip Morris with the help of P.R. giant Burson Marsteller." The spoof paper has been linked to the Yes Men, a political satire group that's previously targeted the World Trade Organization and Dow Chemical Company.

For years, military recruiters have focused on adult "influencers" -- parents, teachers and coaches who could encourage or discourage a young person from joining the military. Now, the U.S. Army is seeking to make its recruiting "campaign more relevant to the desired audience of Americans ages 17 to 24." The new phase of the "Army strong" campaign puts "more emphasis on the Internet, event marketing and other methods that connect with young Americans on a closer, more personal level." It includes a revamped Army website, with "Straight from Iraq," a webcast series where visitors can "find out what it's really like to be deployed in the Middle East from the men and women stationed there." It's "the first time the Iraq war has been referred to so directly and prominently" on the Army's website. Nine Interpublic Group firms work on the "Army strong" campaign, including Casanova Pendrill, for ads targeting Hispanics; IW Group, for ads targeting Asian-Americans; Carol H. Williams Advertising, for ads targeting African-Americans; and Weber Shandwick, for public relations. The Army's also changing its "Virtual Army Experience" traveling exhibit, after criticism that its videogame contains violent imagery not suitable for the music festivals and county fairs where it's presented. "The new content will concentrate on the peaceful purposes the Army can serve ... like providing humanitarian aid."

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, has released its list of "urgent," "critical" and "time sensitive" policy concerns for President-elect Barack Obama and the new Congress. Several are military-related, such as the "U.S. efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan," "undisciplined defense spending," "caring for service members," and "rebuilding military readiness." Another priority, "improving the U.S. image abroad," arguably makes the list because of U.S. military actions. The GAO recommends better "strategic planning, coordination, and performance measurement" of public diplomacy efforts. In particular, the State Department should "improve the delivery of public diplomacy messages to Muslim audiences," develop "a strategy to guide department efforts to engage the private sector," and standardize approaches "for marking and publicizing all U.S. foreign assistance." Among the GAO's other top priorities are better managing "financial institutions and markets" by "reforming the U.S. financial regulatory system to reflect 21st century realities."

Evergreen Defense & Security Services (EDSS), an Oregon-based aviation company and military contractor with a history of working for the CIA, recently offered their services on Election Day. EDSS "has recognized the potential conflict that could occur on November 4," firm president Tom Wiggins wrote in an email to Oregon county clerks. "EDSS proposes to post sentries at each voting center ... to assure that disputes among citizens do not get out of control. All guards will be unarmed but capable of stopping any violence that may occur, and detaining troublemakers until law enforcement help arrives." EDSS's offer "baffled county clerks and the Elections Division, who did not solicit the security help" and didn't anticipate security problems, according to PolitickerOR.com. The offer's especially strange, as the state has "no actual polling places, since Oregon went to vote by mail several years ago," noted the News-Review of Roseburg, Oregon. Counties do set up areas where voters can drop off their ballots. EDSS "didn't get any bites from the counties," reported The Oregonian.

The Livingston Group, a lobbying and PR firm, "received a healthy $300K during the third period," or third quarter of 2008, from the Council for a Democratic Iran. The website of the Virginia-based group states, "We believe there is an alternative between military confrontation with the current regime and accommodation." According to Lobbyists.info, the group previously retained the firm Cyber Security Research Consultants. Its Livingston Group lobbyists include former Congressman Robert Livingston and Lauri Fitz-Pegado. Fitz-Pegado previously worked at Hill & Knowlton, where she helped promote the first Gulf War for the government of Kuwait, using the front group "Citizens for a Free Kuwait." In a September 25, 2008 blog post, the Council for a Democratic Iran describes itself as "a newly founded non profit organization."

Allison Barber, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense who launched the America Supports You (ASY) program and was also heavily involved in the Pentagon pundit program, is resigning. Barber leaves as the Pentagon's inspector general continues to investigate ASY's financial practices and the pundit program (which is also being investigated by the Government Accountability Office and the Federal Communications Commission). Her boss, Robert Hastings, says Barber's resignation has nothing to do with the ASY investigation. "She and I have been discussing the timing of her departure since early summer," Hastings told Stars and Stripes. "I asked her to stay until DMA was launched," he said, referring to the Defense Media Activity, which has consolidated the Pentagon's media operations. The Pentagon announced DMA's "activation" on October 20. According to military support blogs, Barber sent a farewell to ASY groups saying, "Our troops deserve this type of support and together, we have made it happen." Neither the Pentagon public affairs office nor Barber herself responded to the Center for Media and Democracy's request for comment.

The U.S. Navy Seals have hired Gallup Consulting on a $500,000 contract, to help the force "develop a new branding and marketing strategy," reports PR Week. Gallup will write a two-year marketing plan for the Seals, including the "development of market segmentation, target candidate profiles, key marketing messages, competitive analysis, and positioning." One of the contract's goals is to increase recruitment. The U.S. Navy now has 2,400 Seals, but wants to increase that number "by as many as 500 during the next few years to meet a general need for military special forces."

In April 2008, the New York Times exposed the Pentagon pundit scandal, where the Defense Department cultivated retired military officials who are frequent media commentators, to serve as "message force multipliers" for Bush administration policies on Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and other controversial topics. In response, members of Congress condemned the program and called for investigations. Three investigations are pending, but one bill recently passed Congress. Senator John Kerry, its lead sponsor, says the measure will ensure that "taxpayer money isn't used to peddle propaganda on the American people." But the measure, introduced as S. 3099, neither defines what constitutes "propaganda" nor establishes enforcement mechanisms. It also bans Pentagon propaganda "within the United States not otherwise specifically authorized," without clarifying if that extends to web-based or broadcast materials intended for foreign audiences but accessible from the United States. The Defense Department has claimed that propagandizing U.S. audiences is permissible, as long as that was not the government's intent.

Two years ago, public revulsion against the Bush Administration's unnecessary and disastrous attack and occupation of Iraq resulted in the Democratic Party taking control of the U.S. Congress. But Nancy Pelosi and the new political leadership backed down before President Bush and refused to withhold funding for the war, while rhetorically denouncing it and thus playing to anti-war voters. The liberal lobby group MoveOn spent tens of millions of dollars on anti-war advertisements and door-to-door canvassing events as part of its partisan campaign to blame the war on the Republicans, while letting Democrats off the hook for giving Bush all the money he wanted to continue the occupation into next year.

Today, as the 2008 election approaches, worry over Iraq has slipped down the public's list of concerns while more immediate economic issues and the spectacular collapse of the Wall Street investment banks take center stage. However, one anti-war organization has proven especially tenacious, independent and committed to immediately bringing home troops from Iraq and making good to the Iraqi people, while taking care of the soldiers who fought the war. That organization is the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) composed of more than thirteen hundred soldiers who have recently served or are still serving in the U.S. military.