News

Pentagon's hidden hand is behind TV "military analysts.

by Buddy 'Friendly' Wachenheimer
Monday, April 21, 2008. 08:24AM
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A damning piece by David Barstow in today's New York Times that chronicles "a symbiotic relationship where the usual dividing lines between government and journalism have been obliterated." Snip:

Records and interviews show how the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform the analysts into a kind of media Trojan horse — an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks.

Analysts have been wooed in hundreds of private briefings with senior military leaders, including officials with significant influence over contracting and budget matters, records show. They have been taken on tours of Iraq and given access to classified intelligence. They have been briefed by officials from the White House, State Department and Justice Department, including Mr. Cheney, Alberto R. Gonzales and Stephen J. Hadley.

In turn, members of this group have echoed administration talking points, sometimes even when they suspected the information was false or inflated. Some analysts acknowledge they suppressed doubts because they feared jeopardizing their access.

A few expressed regret for participating in what they regarded as an effort to dupe the American public with propaganda dressed as independent military analysis.

“It was them saying, ‘We need to stick our hands up your back and move your mouth for you,’ ” Robert S. Bevelacqua, a retired Green Beret and former Fox News analyst, said.

Kenneth Allard, a former NBC military analyst who has taught information warfare at the National Defense University, said the campaign amounted to a sophisticated information operation. “This was a coherent, active policy,” he said.

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Thursday, May 1, 2008. 07:19AM by John Q Public
True and very scary.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008. 05:34AM by Buddy 'Friendly' Wachenheimer
Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan was brain dead on arrival. He was the beginning of the end of our country. Wash your mouth out with lye, now. Shame on you.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008. 08:30AM by TJ Swafford
Yeah but Obama is the answer? Or Hillary even? We need to clone Ronald Reagan...
Monday, April 21, 2008. 10:23AM by Buddy 'Friendly' Wachenheimer
Will the depth and scope of ALL the lies and manipulation of Bush / Republicans administration ever be known? Will the truth ever be told? And if so, will 50% of the morons living in this country who support them, ever learn the lesson and change their foolish voting ways, before our country is completely ruined by these greedy, self-serving Republican assholes? PS- and fuck John 'more of the same' McCain!