US Psychological Warfare Effort to be Outsourced
international |
anti-war / imperialism |
other press
Saturday June 11, 2005 20:10
by redjade
"If you plant false stories, how can you control where that story goes? You can't."
Psychological Warfare Effort to be Outsourced
Army command hires three firms to sway Afghans and Iraqis
by James W Crawley
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0610-01.htm
June 10, 2005
by the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Virginia)
The U.S. Special Operations Command has hired three firms to produce newspaper stories, television broadcasts and Web sites to spread American propaganda overseas.
The Tampa-based military headquarters, which oversees commandos and psychological warfare, may spend up to $100 million for the media campaign in the next five years.
[....]
The use of contractors in psyops is a new wrinkle. But psychological warfare expert Herb Friedman said he is not surprised.
With only one active-duty and two reserve psyops units remaining, Friedman said, "The bottom line is, they don't have the manpower."
Federal law prohibits sending propaganda to Americans, and some experts worry that psychological warfare messages, especially disinformation efforts, might blow back to American audiences via the Internet and satellite news channels.
"In this age of the Internet and instant access, it's of great concern," said Nancy Snow, a propaganda expert at California State University-Fullerton. "If you plant false stories, how can you control where that story goes? You can't."
[....]
Winning the contracts were Science Applications International Corp., SYColeman Inc. and Lincoln Group Corp.
[....]
The companies will get their marching orders from a joint psychological operations support element created last year.
Each contractor will receive a minimum of $250,000 during the first year and $500,000 each subsequent year. The entire contract could total $100 million by 2010, records show.
The contract calls for the firms to produce print articles, video and audio broadcasts, Internet sites and novelty items, like T-shirts and bumper stickers, for foreign audiences.
Video products will include newscasts, hour-long TV shows and commercials.
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Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8U.S. Special Operations Command
http://www.soc.mil/
SOC News
http://news.soc.mil/
Psychological operations support national security objectives at the tactical, operational and strategic levels of operations.
Strategic psychological operations advance broad or long-term objectives. Global in nature, they may be directed toward large audiences or at key communicators.
Operational psychological operations are conducted on a smaller scale. They are employed by theater commanders to target groups within the theater of operations. Their purpose can range from gaining support for U.S. operations to preparing the battlefield for combat.
[....]
Both tactical and theater-level psychological operations may be used to enhance peacetime military activities of conventional and special operations forces operating in foreign countries.
http://www.soc.mil/usacapoc/psyopfs.shtml
for Afghanistan
Science Applications International Corp.
http://www.saic.com
SAIC and News Coverage of the Iraqi Media Network (IMN)
'In November 2003, SAIC re-named IMN television Al Iraqiyah and provided a new look and programming. Today, IMN broadcasts the Al Iraqiyah from Baghdad both terrestrially for local viewers and onto satellite as a national feed to more than 20 IMN Owned and Operated stations that re-broadcast it locally. Today, IMN has 13 radio stations broadcasting to 88%, and 27 television stations broadcasting to 80%, of the Iraqi population. And while we did not get the four proposed television stations in northern Iraq on line as quickly as the Government wanted, they were up and running on 24 December. Despite the war zone conditions, SAIC was successful in accomplishing the goals established for the IMN program.'
http://www.saic.com/cover-archive/natsec/imn.html
More about the 'Iraqi Media Network'
http://www.stanhopecentre.org/research/middleeast.shtml
Al Iraqiyah Website
http://www.iraqimedianet.net
- coverage:
http://www.iraqimedianet.net/tv/stations.htm
Jobs Available from SAIC:
Intelligence Analyst
Job Description:
Provides intelligence analytical support to the interrogation team during development and execution of the interrogation plan/cycle, as directed; provide daily collateral and high-side analysis to support daily interrogations; provides intelligence products and performs intelligence research to support interrogation teams; provides intelligence summaries in support of daily interrogations and in accordance with unit SOPs; interfaces with higher, lower and adjacent intelligence organizations to fully prepare interrogation team for exploitation of detainees, as well as preparing post interrogation analytical products/assessments that support further targeting efforts, source development and analysis of the threat; Serves as a member of an intelligence analytical team of military and / or civilian analysts under the direction of a C2 analytical staff supervisor. Must be willing to work 12 hours a day, 7 days per week if required.
http://jobs.saic.com/ajobbext3.nsf/alljobsbyrequestno/BCH113504?OpenDocument
Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site
- SAIC-designed interactive kiosk features virtual tour of the civil rights leader's birth home
http://www.saic.com/cover-archive/community/mlk.html
SYColeman Inc.
http://www.sycoleman.com
Jobs Available from SYColeman:
- Job in Iraq
ACG 05-370 - ACG 05-384
'SYColeman is seeking Intelligence analysts to support interrogation operations.'
http://tinyurl.com/7btd8
http://www.sycoleman.com/clients/
Portfolio: Army.mil Website
'SYColeman designs and maintains the Army.mil website, the Army's official public website. Reaching an audience of more than 6 million monthly visitors, SYColeman provides cutting edge support for web communications.'
http://www.sycoleman.com/portfolio/armyweb.html
Making websites to recruit for war - Psyops against the enemy to win war
Lincoln Group Corp.
http://www.lincolngroup.com/
- About US
'Working in the furthest regions of the world, the Lincoln team delivers novel solutions that bridge the cultural divide. Our work encompasses a variety of communications services, strategic planning and professional consultation. Our success is based on excellent research, local presence, discretion, and quality people.'
http://www.lincolngroup.com/About/index.htm
- Real Estate
'Diverse Opportunities
Baghdad, Karbala, Babylon, Basra, and other major cities are severely lacking in office, hotel, corporate housing, industrial, and other commercial real estate. Lincoln Group staff has visited over 100 properties that are suitable for renovation or development and are available for lease to non-Iraqi interests or sale to Iraqi individuals and entities.'
http://www.lincolngroup.com/Investment/index.htm
Why Were Government Propaganda Experts Working On News At CNN?
3/27/00
Reports in the Dutch newspaper Trouw (2/21/00, 2/25/00) and France's Intelligence Newsletter (2/17/00) have revealed that several officers from the US Army's 4th Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) Group at Ft. Bragg worked in the news division at CNN's Atlanta headquarters last year, starting in the final days of the Kosovo War.
[....]
What makes the CNN story especially troubling is the fact that the network allowed the Army's covert propagandists to work in its headquarters, where they learned the ins and outs of CNN's operations. Even if the PSYOPS officers working in the newsroom did not influence news reporting, did the network allow the military to conduct an intelligence-gathering mission against CNN itself?
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1748
. . . . .
CNN confirms story and explains...
'The intern program was terminated as soon as the leadership of CNN learned of it. CNN's position: it was inappropriate for PSYOPS personnel to be at CNN, they are not here now, and they never again will be at CNN.'
http://www.fair.org/activism/psyops-response.html
Now $300 million is a hell of a lot of clams to be spending on text messages and podcasts, even in this day and age. So I paid particular attention to the recipients of all that dough. I know SAIC and SYColman -- both large (especially SAIC) established Pentagon contractors. But I'd never heard of the Lincoln Group. Curious, I spent a few hours checking Google and Nexis to see what I could find out. Which, as it turned out, wasn't much, but it was enough to put a few scraps of meat on the bones of my suspicions.
According to O’Dwyer’s Newsletter, a PR industry tip sheet, the Lincoln Group was formerly known as Iraqex, but changed its name in March to match that of its corporate parent, the Lincoln Alliance Corporation, a DC-based "business intelligence" firm.
In this audio clip ( http://www.earlystage.com/TAFFFiles/ESChristianBailey1-3-2004Compressed.MP3 ) of an interview with the web site earlystage.com, Lincoln Group executive vice president Christian Bailey, a British venture capitalist -- who appears in this picture (scroll down) to be about 18 years old -- claims to have started Iraqex with some unidentified partners in October 2003 to explore private equity and property related transactions in the New Iraq.
Not surprisingly, given the realities of doing business in a war zone, government contracting transactions proved more attractive to Iraqex, and in October 2004, the firm was awarded a one-year $6 million contract from the Pentagon to do PR work for the military in Iraq, with three six-months options for another $12.2 million. O'Dwyer editor Kevin McCauley was quotedas calling it "a blockbuster -- in terms of dollars -- for PR . . . Those are big numbers, even if one is operating in a war zone."
--
http://www.lincolngroup.com/
more from Whiskey Bar...
Christian Bailey of the Lincoln Group
Turns out that Christian Bailey part of Lead21 ( http://www.lead21.org/page7.html )
What does Lead21 do?
Lead21 provides business and community leaders, primarily in their 30s, a platform to get involved in public policy and politics. We host small and large policy and networking events, run political boot camps ("Politics 101"), and introduce our members to influential elected and appointed officials and thought leaders.
Do I have to be a Republican to join Lead21?
No. Lead21 members are Republicans, lean Republican, or are open-minded independents.
- - -
'Xan' discovers and writes
Yup. The guy's got every qualification you could ask for to run a multi-million dollar psy-ops/PR/propaganda gig, or at least produce novelty items.'
http://corrente.blogspot.com/2005/06/soon-they-will-love-us-and-throw.html
Xan found this
http://www.lead21.org/page6.html
Whiskey Bar added more links at bottom of page
http://billmon.org/archives/001900.html
After [White House Press Secretary Scott] McClellan outlined the president's plans, leading up to a key June 28th speech, ABC correspondent Terry Moran asked a pointed question, which referred back to an assessment recently made by Vice President Dick Cheney.
Q Scott, is the insurgency in Iraq in its 'last throes'?
McCLELLAN: Terry, you have a desperate group of terrorists in Iraq that are doing everything they can to try to derail the transition to democracy. The Iraqi people have made it clear that they want a free and democratic and peaceful future. And that's why we're doing everything we can, along with other countries, to support the Iraqi people as they move forward….
Q But the insurgency is in its last throes?
McCLELLAN: The Vice President talked about that the other day -- you have a desperate group of terrorists who recognize how high the stakes are in Iraq. A free Iraq will be a significant blow to their ambitions.
Q But they're killing more Americans, they're killing more Iraqis. That's the last throes?
McCLELLAN: Innocent -- I say innocent civilians. And it doesn't take a lot of people to cause mass damage when you're willing to strap a bomb onto yourself, get in a car and go and attack innocent civilians. That's the kind of people that we're dealing with. That's what I say when we're talking about a determined enemy.
Q Right. What is the evidence that the insurgency is in its last throes?
McCLELLAN: I think I just explained to you the desperation of terrorists and their tactics.
Q What's the evidence on the ground that it's being extinguished?
McCLELLAN: Terry, we're making great progress to defeat the terrorist and regime elements. You're seeing Iraqis now playing more of a role in addressing the security threats that they face. They're working side by side with our coalition forces. They're working on their own. There are a lot of special forces in Iraq that are taking the battle to the enemy in Iraq. And so this is a period when they are in a desperate mode.
Q Well, I'm just wondering what the metric is for measuring the defeat of the insurgency.
McCLELLAN: Well, you can go back and look at the Vice President's remarks. I think he talked about it.
Q Yes. Is there any idea how long a 'last throe' lasts for?
McCLELLAN: Go ahead, Steve....