U.S. Administration May Covertly Manipulate Public Opinion in Allied Countries As Part of its War Preparation
The fight, one Pentagon official said, is over "the strategic communications for our nation, the message we want to send for long-term influence, and how we do it."
Source : BASE21
by Christian/Base21 Media Activist
dvs-b@t-online.de
U.S. Department of Defence is considering issuing a directive to the U.S. military to conduct covert operations aimed at influencing public opinion and policymakers in friendly and neutral countries, senior Pentagon officials say. Named are countries like Germany and Pakistan where large opposition against the war and the U.S. exists, according to New York Times.
The fight, one Pentagon official said, is over "the strategic communications for our nation, the message we want to send for long-term influence, and how we do it." One military officer said: "We have the assets, the capabilities and the training to go into friendly and neutral nations to influence public opinion. We could do it and get away with it." It is not the first time that the debate over how the U.S. should marshal its force to "win the hearts and minds of the world".
In February they created a plan to provide news items, including possibly false ones, to foreign journalists to influence public sentiment abroad in its efforts to prepare for war in the Middle East, the International Herald Tribune reported on Tuesday, December 17.
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