I didn't see this mentioned here yet, but Rolling Stone's Michael Hastings has another blockbuster report up on the Army's use of Psy-Ops on American Senators such as John McCain and Al Franken.
Another Runaway General: Army Deploys Psy-Ops on U.S. Senators
Over a four-month period last year, a military cell devoted to what is known as "information operations" at Camp Eggers in Kabul was repeatedly pressured to target visiting senators and other VIPs who met with Caldwell. When the unit resisted the order, arguing that it violated U.S. laws prohibiting the use of propaganda against American citizens, it was subjected to a campaign of retaliation.
"My job in psy-ops is to play with people’s heads, to get the enemy to behave the way we want them to behave," says Lt. Colonel Michael Holmes, the leader of the IO unit, who received an official reprimand after bucking orders. "I’m prohibited from doing that to our own people. When you ask me to try to use these skills on senators and congressman, you’re crossing a line."
The incident offers an indication of just how desperate the U.S. command in Afghanistan is to spin American civilian leaders into supporting an increasingly unpopular war. According to the Defense Department’s own definition, psy-ops – the use of propaganda and psychological tactics to influence emotions and behaviors – are supposed to be used exclusively on "hostile foreign groups." Federal law forbids the military from practicing psy-ops on Americans, and each defense authorization bill comes with a "propaganda rider" that also prohibits such manipulation. "Everyone in the psy-ops, intel, and IO community knows you’re not supposed to target Americans," says a veteran member of another psy-ops team who has run operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. "It’s what you learn on day one."
Congressional delegations – known in military jargon as CODELs – are no strangers to spin. U.S. lawmakers routinely take trips to the frontlines in Iraq and Afghanistan, where they receive carefully orchestrated briefings and visit local markets before posing for souvenir photos in helmets and flak jackets. Informally, the trips are a way for generals to lobby congressmen and provide first-hand updates on the war. But what Caldwell was looking for was more than the usual background briefings on senators. According to Holmes, the general wanted the IO team to provide a "deeper analysis of pressure points we could use to leverage the delegation for more funds." The general’s chief of staff also asked Holmes how Caldwell could secretly manipulate the U.S. lawmakers without their knowledge. "How do we get these guys to give us more people?" he demanded. "What do I have to plant inside their heads?"
"Caldwell seemed far more focused on the Americans and the funding stream than he was on the Afghans. We were there to teach and train the Afghans. But for the first four months it was all about the U.S. Later he even started talking about targeting the NATO populations." At one point, according to Holmes, Caldwell wanted to break up the IO team and give each general on his staff their own personal spokesperson with psy-ops training.
The whole article is well worth reading and just another example of an out of control war propaganda machine directed at the US population.
Digby provides some analysis:
But what's truly amazing about this is that they are apparently selling this as a "national security" necessity since the General who is implicated in this is allegedly the "lynchpin" of the Afghan training program, which I guess we're supposed to take on faith --- and overlook any little unpleasantness like illegally trying to brainwash US Senators. Unbelievable.
I realize that everyone hates the fact that Michael Hastings breaks the Village rules and reports what he's heard and seen rather than keeping the government's secrets. Nothing upsets most journalists more than that. After all, if you fail to keep everything important off the record how ever will you get the little irrelevant tidbits you need for those sycophantic beat sweeteners?
As far as I know nothing Hastings reported about what McCrystal said wasn't true. What the military -- and most of the press corps are mad about is that he was apparently supposed to let that "sort of thing" go because it's a breach of protocol to reveal what your sources are telling you when they are just "blowing off steam." Moreover, it's got a sanctimonious air about it in that reporting accurately on what these General really do could 'endanger the troops" or American national security, which is just cheap.In fact, now that I think about it, it might be worth considering whether the military tried out this "psy-ops" program on the American press corps before then unleashed it on the US Senate. It explains a lot.
Update: Oh, I forgot. That last is literally true.
Update: Crooks and Liars has more:
Of course, we all realize that it goes on. Images are manipulated and messages are massaged. Before they appear before Congress, Generals confer with image consultants to lead the star-struck officials before them where they want them to go.
But this is a whole new level of evil. Not only did Caldwell intentionally violate U.S. laws against propagandizing American legislators, he punished the guy who stood up and said it was wrong. If that isn't intent and malice of forthought, I don't know what is.