Return-Path: <sentto-279987-4524-1014647390-fc=all.net@returns.groups.yahoo.com> Delivered-To: fc@all.net Received: from 204.181.12.215 [204.181.12.215] by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.7.4) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Mon, 25 Feb 2002 06:32:08 -0800 (PST) Received: (qmail 12430 invoked by uid 510); 25 Feb 2002 14:29:47 -0000 Received: from n27.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.77) by all.net with SMTP; 25 Feb 2002 14:29:47 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-4524-1014647390-fc=all.net@returns.groups.yahoo.com Received: from [216.115.97.163] by n27.groups.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 25 Feb 2002 14:29:50 -0000 X-Sender: fc@red.all.net X-Apparently-To: iwar@onelist.com Received: (EGP: unknown); 25 Feb 2002 14:29:50 -0000 Received: (qmail 16396 invoked from network); 25 Feb 2002 14:29:50 -0000 Received: from unknown (216.115.97.171) by m9.grp.snv.yahoo.com with QMQP; 25 Feb 2002 14:29:50 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO red.all.net) (12.232.72.152) by mta3.grp.snv.yahoo.com with SMTP; 25 Feb 2002 14:29:50 -0000 Received: (from fc@localhost) by red.all.net (8.11.2/8.11.2) id g1PETrk03020 for iwar@onelist.com; Mon, 25 Feb 2002 06:29:53 -0800 Message-Id: <200202251429.g1PETrk03020@red.all.net> To: iwar@onelist.com (Information Warfare Mailing List) Organization: I'm not allowed to say X-Mailer: don't even ask X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL3] From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net> X-Yahoo-Profile: fcallnet Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com> Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2002 06:29:53 -0800 (PST) Subject: [iwar] [fc:Lies,.damned.lies.and.Pentagon.briefings] Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Lies, damned lies and Pentagon briefings Oliver Burkeman in New York Wednesday February 20, 2002 <A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/"The Guardian</A Fresh from dropping anti-Taliban leaflets over the mountains of Afghanistan, the secretive propaganda arm of the US military is planning to bring the battle for hearts and minds closer to home, by planting fake news stories in the media outlets of America's allies, it was reported yesterday. Stung by criticism of the war against terrorism, the Pentagon's little-known office of strategic influence is preparing to feed misinformation to foreign news organisations in friendly nations, military officials told the New York Times. It quoted an unnamed senior Pentagon official as saying the office's operations would go "from the blackest of black to the whitest of white", using the military's terms for false and true propaganda. The plan has outraged other Pentagon departments because it could undermine the credibility of information given out by the defence department's press spokespeople. "Everybody understands using information operations to go after non-friendlies; when people get uncomfortable is when people use the same tools and tactics on friendlies," another military official told the newspaper. It might also be illegal: the US government is banned from spreading misinformation at home, and some in the department fear that stories planted in foreign publications might be reproduced in America. The Pentagon would not discuss the allegations yesterday, but the cold war-style campaign seems well-advanced. The OSI has hired a Washington consulting firm, the Rendon Group, whose previous clients range from the Kuwaiti royal family to the New Zealand milk marketing board, on a contract worth about $100,000 (£70,000) a month. "We have a confidentiality agreement regarding our contract with the department of defence," a spokeswoman for the group said yesterday. "The contract really prevents me from telling you anything, frustrating though that is." The army's psychological operations command, or "psyops", will also help to carry out the plan. Among the OSI's other ingenious strategies, the newspaper reported, is a plan to send emails to foreign leaders and journalists presenting America in a good light and disparaging its enemies. Many senior defence personnel know little of the OSI, which was established after September 11 to shore up support, especially in Muslim countries, for the Bush administration's war on terror. It is understood to have a multi-million dollar share of the extra $10bn made available to the Pentagon in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. The president has not yet approved the misinformation campaign, pending the go-ahead from the Pentagon lawyer. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Sponsored by VeriSign - The Value of Trust Do you need to encrypt all your online transactions? 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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : 2002-12-31 02:15:03 PST