WMD's....Weapons of mass deception
US planting stories in Iraqi newspapers
Articles by troops said to offer one-sided view
By Mark Mazzetti and Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times | December 1, 2005
WASHINGTON -- As part of an information offensive in Iraq, the US military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by American troops in an effort to burnish the image of the US mission in Iraq.
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Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts The articles, written by US military ''information operations" troops, are translated into Arabic and placed in Baghdad newspapers with the help of a defense contractor, according to US military officials and documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
Many of the articles are presented in the Iraqi press as unbiased news accounts written and reported by independent journalists. The stories trumpet the work of US and Iraqi troops, denounce insurgents, and tout US-led efforts to rebuild the country.
While the articles are basically truthful, they present only one side of events and omit information that might reflect poorly on the US or Iraqi governments, officials said. Records and interviews indicate that the United States has paid Iraqi newspapers to run dozens of such articles -- with headlines such as ''Iraqis Insist on Living Despite Terrorism" -- since the effort began this year.
The operation is designed to mask any connection with the US military. The Pentagon has a contract with a small Washington-based firm called Lincoln Group, which helps translate and place the stories. The Lincoln Group's Iraqi staff, or its subcontractors, sometimes pose as freelance reporters or advertising executives when they deliver the stories to Baghdad media outlets.
The military's effort to disseminate propaganda in the Iraqi media is taking place even as US officials are vowing to promote democratic principles, political transparency, and freedom of speech to a country emerging from decades of dictatorship and corruption. It comes as the State Department is training Iraqi reporters in basic journalism skills and Western media ethics, including one workshop titled ''The Role of Press in a Democratic Society."