How to start a war

[Danhalen]

I read an interesting article from Rolling Stone yesterday. It deals with the control of information and how that control leads to political agenda being advanced through warfare. It is interesting to me how it is possible for the U.S. government to spread false information to the American public by hiring a private sector PR company to spread false information overseas. The intent being: the speed of the dissemination of information in this age will quickly return to the American people. All the while the government is legally safe due to the fact the information was spread through a private company to a foreign country.

I know this is not necessarily true, but I think the implications that can be drawn from the following texts are compelling.

Here is the Rolling Stone article.

Here is The Rendon Group's rebuttal.

Here is the response to the Rendon rebuttal.

[Godwhacker]

The first aspect, control of information, has been a staple of governments in power for centuries. Just saw a brief series about how the popes of the middle ages used control of information to keep themselves in power, etc.

As for the private company issue, the CIA and other such agencies have been doing that for a long time. In the recent Valerie Plame affair, part of the reason that some view the incident in question as so damaging was not so much naming Ms. Plame as a spy, but naming the fake "front company" that she, and many other operatives apprently, "worked" for.

Reminds me of the Bond films, where Bond supposed works for "Universal Exports"

[alphamale]

What a howler! The LME works night and day spreading distortion, misinformation, withholding information, all wrapped up in the package of liberal bias. Anything the government tries to do would be steamrollered by the LME pros!

[Danhalen]

Originally Posted by alphamale

What a howler! The LME works night and day spreading distortion, misinformation, withholding information, all wrapped up in the package of liberal bias. Anything the government tries to do would be steamrollered by the LME pros!

The next step is to provide evidence for your assertion.

[alphamale]

Originally Posted by Danhalen

The next step is to provide evidence for your assertion.

OK! The OP appears to be referring to the newly-revealed practice of the U.S. paying Iraqi newspapers to print good news, true good news, about positive things happening in Iraq. Oh horrors! The U.S. LME coverage of Iraq, when an election isn't happening, has often been reduced to small paragraphs like "Ten marines were killed in Iraq today. That brings the total since the war started to 1034. In other news .....". This war, far more than any preceding war, is a war of information, with the LME as usual on the enemy's side, as when CNN cleared their pre-war broadcasts from Iraq with the Iraqi propaganda chief.

[Danhalen]

Originally Posted by alphamale

OK! The OP appears to be referring to the newly-revealed practice of the U.S. paying Iraqi newspapers to print good news, true good news, about positive things happening in Iraq. Oh horrors!

Actually the OP is referring to how the war was started. Apparently you never read the linked articles.

The U.S. LME coverage of Iraq, when an election isn't happening, has often been reduced to small paragraphs like "Ten marines were killed in Iraq today. That brings the total since the war started to 1034. In other news .....".

If the war had never been started through warping the perception of the American people there may not be headlines relating the toll of American deaths.

This war, far more than any preceding war, is a war of information, with the LME as usual on the enemy's side, as when CNN cleared their pre-war broadcasts from Iraq with the Iraqi propaganda chief.

I'd like to see how they could have done otherwise without endangering the lives of their reporters.