Pentagon Pundits Jeopardize America's Free Press
Yesterday, the New York Times exposed a secret Pentagon campaign to infiltrate the media with pro-war propaganda.
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The scheme reaches all the way to the Bush White House, where top officials recruited dozens of "military analysts" to spread favorable views of the war via every major news channel -- without revealing they were working from Pentagon scripts and often lobbying for major military contractors.
Spreading "covert propaganda" is illegal under federal law. Congress must investigate these military pundits and their ties to the Bush administration, defense contractors and our national news media.
Tell Congress: Investigate the Propaganda Pundits
Signing this letter does work. If we can get 50,000 people to join this call to Congress, they will likely take action to stop government propaganda.
The more than 75 analysts exposed by the New York Times have become fixtures of war coverage on CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. The front-page article reveals the many ways that the Pentagon fed them pro-war talking points and misinformation. The White House even has a name for these covert propagandists: “message force multipliers.”
The pundits trade on their access to the media and the White House to secure high-paying jobs as lobbyists, consultants and contractors -- vying for hundreds of billions of dollars in military business generated by the war.
Take Action: Investigate White House Propaganda
An administration secretly forcing favorable views via the press is not a partisan issue. This is a violation of every conceivable standard of journalism -- and possibly of federal law.
It's time the truth about the selling of this war came out. You can help make this happen.
Take action and then forward this e-mail to all of your friends.
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Civilian control of the councils of government
On UTube you can watch President Dwight D. Eisenhower deliver his fairwell speech given on 1/17/61 just before President John F. Kennedy took office. He spoke of the danger presented by the military-industrial complex if citzens failed in their duty to keep it in check. I believe we are seeing the ramifications of just that going on right now and that it's going to take some degree of bravery from citizens and a cool head to get our country back.
Former general Dwight D. Eisenhower said at West Point if I have my facts right, "In the councils of government we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic process. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together."
Let's make it our duty to see to it that only the most qualified person becomes the next President of our country. Someone who not only knows what Eisenhower was talking about but who won't fall prey to the temptations of the power hungry beast.