http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N26364579.htmFile shows US 'psychological operations' concerns
26 Jan 2006 23:41:50 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld acknowledged in a document made public on Thursday that information spread by the Pentagon to influence foreign peoples and enemies increasingly seeps back home and is "consumed by our domestic audience."
The Pentagon argued the "psychological operations" information was truthful. But the research organization that obtained the document through the Freedom of Information Act described it as propaganda planted overseas that inevitably made its way back to the United States.
The document's disclosure comes amid a fierce debate over what is permissible for the U.S. government in getting its message across to foreign audiences. For example, the U.S. military command in Iraq is investigating a military program that funneled money to some Iraqi newspapers to publish pro-American articles.
The document, marked "secret," was titled "Information Operations Roadmap," and laid out the need for the Pentagon to improve its capabilities in psychological operations, electronic warfare, military deception and other areas.