Military Will Keep Planting Articles in Iraqi newspapers

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The Pentagon investigated itself and discovered -- surprise! -- that it had done nothing wrong.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-infowar4mar04,1,5826195.story?coll=la-news-a_section

The ranking U.S. general there says a Pentagon review found the program does not violate policy. It could be replicated elsewhere.

By Mark Mazzetti
Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military plans to continue paying Iraqi newspapers to publish articles favorable to the United States after an inquiry found no fault with the controversial practice, the top U.S. general in Iraq said Friday.

Army Gen. George W. Casey said the internal review had concluded that the U.S. military was not violating U.S. law or Pentagon guidelines with the information operations campaign, in which U.S. troops and a private contractor write pro-American articles and pay to have them planted without attribution in Iraqi media.

"By and large, it found that we were operating within our authorities and responsibilities," Casey said, adding that he had no intention of shutting the program down.

The program has been criticized both inside and outside the military as detrimental to U.S. credibility and contrary to the principles of a free press in a nascent, embattled democracy.

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1. And this accomplishes....what?

oh that's right--it eliminates free speech and fuels distrust. Mission accomplished.