Pentagon to target allies with covert propaganda
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Your support makes all the difference.The Pentagon is considering a plan to establish covert propaganda operations in countries it considers its allies in order to improve America's image and discredit hostile factions.
The plan, revealed yesterday by The New York Times, involves efforts to undermine the influence of mosques and religious schools, perhaps by establishing moderate Islamic schools with US funding. Other suggestions being considered include paying journalists to write stories favourable to the United States and hiring contractors without obvious ties to the Pentagon to organise rallies and demonstrations in support of US policies.
The proposal has triggered sharp debate across the Bush administration because of its plan to run such operations in countries considered not only neutral but friendly to the US. Germany – where many of the 11 September hijackers lived – was one of the countries mentioned. It was unclear whether there were proposals to establish such operations in Britain. A spokesman for the British Embassy in Washington declined to comment on "speculative stories".
Admiral Dennis Blair, a retired commander of US forces in the Pacific, said: "Running ops against your allies doesn't work very well. I've seen it tried a few times and it generally is not very effective."
Official sources in Washington said the plans – contained within a classified policy document entitled 3600.1: Information Operations – were being pushed by the more hawkish elements of the Pentagon and did not have the support of the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld.
Last February Mr Rumsfeld was forced to dismantle the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Influence (OSI) after it was revealed that there were plans to provide false stories and "black propaganda" to foreign journalists.
But Mr Rumsfeld suggested last month that while the OSI had been dismantled, its work was continuing. At a press briefing he said: "I'll give you the [OSI's] corpse. There's the name. You can have the name, but I'm gonna keep doing every single thing that needs to be done."
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