Globalisation:Information Operations Task Force
Introduction
The Information Operations Task Force is a military organisation based in Baghdad and is part of the multinational corps headquarters commanded by Army Lt. Gen. John R. Vines.[1] The Information Operations Task Force was an organisation which provided news stories to the US Department of Defence which subsequently paid Iraqi newspapers to disseminate news stories written by American military sources which presented a favourable image of the American action in the country. Although the news stories were largely truthful they presented a one sided view of the news and the editors of the newspapers in question were not always aware that what they were printing was essentially propaganda from the US Government. [2]
Lincoln Group
The pentagon signed contracts with Lincoln Group, a Washington based defence contractor, with a maximum value of $100M to place news articles written by the Information Operations Task Force in the Iraqi press. The specific job of one Lincoln Group employee was to ensure that there were 'No fingerprints' which could lead back to the source of the articles.[3] It is also alleged in The Independent that quotes said to be from Iraqi officials or citizens were routinely fabricated by US troops who had never left the green zone in Baghdad.
Investigation
When this operation originally came to light there was a Pentagon investigation into the stories which Lincoln Group had produced. This investigation cleared them of any wrongdoing and found the stories to be factually correct.
Implications
Although there is no law against the US military carrying out psychological operations or disseminating news through foreign media. It is illegal, through US law, for them to do this within the United States. It has been argued by a private contractor to the Pentagon that, "There is no longer any way to separate foreign media from domestic media. Those neat lines don't exist anymore"[4]. if this is accepted as the case then it is possible that the stories published in Iraq could be picked up and run by US media outlets in which case the law would have been broken.
Notes
- ↑ Mark Mazzetti and Borzou Daragahi, U.S. Military Covertly Pays to Run Stories in Iraqi Press, Los Angeles Times, November 30, 2005, Accessed on 15-Feb-2010
- ↑ Mark Mazzetti and Borzou Daragahi, U.S. Military Covertly Pays to Run Stories in Iraqi Press, Los Angeles Times, November 30, 2005, Accessed on 15-Feb-2010
- ↑ Andrew Buncombe, The US propaganda machine: Oh, what a lovely war, The Independent, 30 March 2006, Accessed on 15-Feb-2010
- ↑ Mark Mazzetti and Borzou Daragahi, U.S. Military Covertly Pays to Run Stories in Iraqi Press, Los Angeles Times, November 30, 2005, Accessed on 15-Feb-2010
