Shrub using GOP vets to plant pro-war stories in the MSM

[booley]

If you see any story anyone tied to a group called Veterans for Freedom , be VERY CYNICAL. Seems Swiftboating and manufacturing news is working so well for the Shrubbery, they decided to make it a permanent part of thier policy.

Former Bush Spokesman Urges Newspapers to Run Pro-War Stories by Former Vets With GOP Ties

The Buffalo News has revealed that a former spokesman for President Bush has been encouraging U.S. newspapers to run news stories from Iraq written by two combat veterans who are now embedded reporters in Iraq. The veterans are from a pro-war group called Vets for Freedom that has ties to the Republican Party. We speak with John Stauber of the Center for Media and Democracy.
The Buffalo News has revealed that a former spokesman for President Bush has been encouraging U.S. newspapers to run news stories from Iraq written by two combat veterans who are now embedded reporters in Iraq.

The official -- Taylor Gross -- has pitched the stories as "balanced and credible viewpoints gained directly from those closest to and most affected by the Iraq War."

But it turns out the veterans are from a pro-war group called Vets for Freedom that has ties to the Republican Party.

The group is now running website hosted by a firm that previously worked for the 2004 Bush-Cheney re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/06/27/1433211

Oh and what a surprise, except for this story and Buffalo news there has been no real coverage of this.

[zbdent]

1. Gee, $100,000,000 must not go as far as it used to ...

I mean, they blew through that bribe funding and look what that produced . . .

[Ezlivin]

2. Wanna bet these vets have all their limbs and aren't horribly disfigured?

We never see the disabled veterans. They conveniently "vanish" after their tour is truncated due to injury.

[frylock]

5. you wanna bet they were REMF?

prolly had a nice, safe position in the Green Zone.

[booley]

3. not sure why they moved this

since it was news from the original source, it was within 12 hours and wasn't a dupe.

But oh well

But since they did, I changed the original titiel.

[Minnesota_Lib]

4. "... directly from those closest to and most affected by the war.'

Err, excuse me, but I'd say the citizens of Iraq are the "closest to and most affected by the Iraq War."

But then again, they probably wouldn't get the desired propaganda from pieces written by Iraqis.