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December 01, 2004
Propagating Propaganda
On the evening of Oct. 14, a young Marine spokesman near Fallouja appeared on CNN and made a dramatic announcement.
"Troops crossed the line of departure," 1st Lt. Lyle Gilbert declared, using a common military expression signaling the start of a major campaign. "It's going to be a long night." CNN, which had been alerted to expect a major news development, reported that the long-awaited offensive to retake the Iraqi city of Fallouja had begun.
In fact, the Fallouja offensive would not kick off for another three weeks. Gilbert's carefully worded announcement was an elaborate psychological operation — or "psy-op" — intended to dupe insurgents in Fallouja and allow U.S. commanders to see how guerrillas would react if they believed U.S. troops were entering the city, according to several Pentagon officials.
In the hours after the initial report, CNN's Pentagon reporters were able to determine that the Fallouja operation had not, in fact, begun.
Read the whole story here. It's an interesting and disturbing account of how the government lies to us and to those the government has designated "the enemy" (which usually includes us).
Not surprisingly, "the strategic communications [i.e., propaganda] programs at the Defense Department are being coordinated by the office of the undersecretary of Defense for policy, Douglas J. Feith."
Posted by Mike Tennant at December 1, 2004 11:29 AM