Iraq propaganda? Nah, here's the scoop, say guys who planted stories . . .

[bigtree]

The word at war


March 26, 2006

WASHINGTON - Oh, no, not at all -- the Lincoln Group does not do propaganda. Sure, the firm's been tarred by some in Congress, the media and the defense establishment for paying Iraqi newspapers to publish hundreds of "news" stories secretly written by U.S. troops.

But Paige Craig, the West Point dropout and former Marine intelligence specialist who is the Lincoln Group's president, says the practice is not propaganda. The word carries such baggage, such suggestions of mind control. So in an industry in which euphemism thrives, a more elegant word is deployed.

"We call it 'influence,' " says Craig, whose business has 12 U.S. government contracts totaling more than $130 million. The Lincoln Group even has a "senior director for insight and influence." His name is Andrew Garfield. Over lunch near the group's Pennsylvania Avenue offices, he also tries to steer the lexicon at play around the table and to clarify what he calls the "tradecraft" of "influence."

Take "psyops," for instance. That's short for "psychological operations." Like the word "propaganda," it, too, conjures mystery, deception.

But that's not what the Lincoln Group does, says Garfield . . .

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12003770/

Let's just agree to call it imperialism

[w4rma]

1. Of course propagandists are going to say that. Its their job. (nt)

[ClintonTyree]

2. "A rose by any other name"..........

would smell as foul as the bullshit she's pumping out. :mad: "The word carries such baggage, such suggestions of mind control". :eyes: When you're trying to convince people that something is happening that IS NOT actually happening it smells like mind control to me. Of course the bush administration is well versed in thar tactic, a full third of Americans STILL believe Saddam was responsible for 9/11. I wonder where they could have gotten that idea? :shrug:

[bigtree]

3. nice of Time to give them the platform to continue their mind game

The lies they feed into the Iraqi press filter into the world press and into our own. It's a slick way around regulations and laws that prohibit them from doing their subversion here in the U.S.

You're right, it gets through. That's why we need reams of reality from our quarters to counter that.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

6. Mind Control = Faux Snooze. n/t

[Up2Late]

4. It's sort of like this handy Repuke-speak conversion chart from...

...the other night on "The Daily Show"

You can see the video at the link below,
<http://www.overspun.com/?cat=2>

or at:
<http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_daily_show/index.jhtml>

[stellanoir]

5. Such a complete and total waste of dough

They are really stupid enough to believe that people who lived under Sadaam for so long are not accustomed to recognizing propaganda at 50 feet.