Psychological Warfare Effort to be Outsourced

[Barrett808]

Psychological Warfare Effort to be Outsourced
Army command hires three firms to sway Afghans and Iraqis
by James W Crawley

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Special Operations Command has hired three firms to produce newspaper stories, television broadcasts and Web sites to spread American propaganda overseas.

The Tampa-based military headquarters, which oversees commandos and psychological warfare, may spend up to $100 million for the media campaign in the next five years.

The Pentagon backed away from a similar campaign in 2002.

The use of contractors in psyops is a new wrinkle. But psychological warfare expert Herb Friedman said he is not surprised.

With only one active-duty and two reserve psyops units remaining, Friedman said, "The bottom line is, they don't have the manpower."

(more)

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0610-01.htm

[Frederik]

1. Create news stories,,,

Just as one suspected, the Office of Strategic Influence was never closed, they just changed their name. Guess we'll have even more of those Zarqawi stories now that they have the manpower they need to work on it. I'm looking forward to even more elaborate stories of how he barely escaped the marines.

[malmapus]

2. When did USASOC move to Tampa???

They had just finished a brand spanking new headquarters building in Ft. Bragg in 95.

I know there is another command in Tampa for like regular operations.

[Insider]

21. USASOC or SOCOM?

i think USASOC (the army piece) is at bragg. SOCOM is the joint command with navy, army, etc (DoD level) in florida.

kick this thread...

[malmapus]

23. ahhh that makes sense, I thought they were talking USASOC from the sound

of it.

Was planning a trip back east and thought about stopping by Bragg to see the Bronze Bruce

[Judi Lynn]

3. Oh, Geez.

Each contractor will receive a minimum of $250,000 during the first year and $500,000 each subsequent year. The entire contract could total $100 million by 2010, records show.

The contract calls for the firms to produce print articles, video and audio broadcasts, Internet sites and novelty items, like T-shirts and bumper stickers, for foreign audiences.

Video products will include newscasts, hour-long TV shows and commercials.

I'll bet domestic psyops employees also post like wildmen to Democrat-attended message boards, posting ferverishly anything which they imagine will throw a wrench into any productive discussion among REAL Democrats.

What a distinguished way to make an overpaid living, right? Good lord. Working against goodness by being a professional liar.

[Karenina]

11. What are their language skills?

Got any gay translators on board? ;--) Things that make you go hmmmm...
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[Ian David]

17. You know, I wonder if the dishonorably discharged gay guys got jobs...

as contractors making more money than they did before?

Does anyone know if that's happened?

The right-wing would go batshit over that.

[Ian David]

16. Damn, I want that job!

For $250,000 a year, I can do almost as good a job as Bush does at making the rest of the world hate us.

I know, that's not their OFFICIAL mission.

Just like creating our own Reichstag Fire wasn't the OFFICIAL mission of The CIA on 9-11.

I would be SO GOOD at making people hate America!

I'd start by adding Bill O'Reilly's show on The Armed Forces Radio Network right after Limbaugh.

And then I would "leak" a memo saying that Muslim detainees in American military prisons are being forced to get gay-married in Massachusetts.

We'd be sure to have a war that would never end until Halliburton runs out of places to hide its money.

I'd suggest appointing a convicted sex offender to be our UN Representative at UNICEF.

I'd tell Bush to make Al Sharpton our Ambassador to Israel, and appoint David Duke as the new Ambassador to Nigeria.

[IChing]

4. I thought Faux news already had a piece of the action?

Spending $100 million on a media campaign in the next five years for overseas
is a drop in the bucket of what is really being spent on propaganda worldwide by the military.

The black budget of the military is around $23.2 billion that we never will see where, who, what these projects are really funding.

[Iowa]

5. Disgusting...

[99Pancakes]

6. Okay

This explains why the FEDS are cutting funding to those (liberal) public broadcasting systems. Yep, this explains a lot.

[AngryWhiteLiberal]

7. They're doing this to circumvent problems w/ pushing propaganda here.

Farming out the propaganda machine to private industry effectively insulates the Pentagon from accusations that they are "mind fucking" the American people.

JB

[DS1]

8. Shit, I'm going to be RICH!

I can sell anyone anything!

[IChing]

9. Link to black budget info: I said it's a drop in the bucket

WP article: http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2003/030827-classified-spending01.htm

"It's puzzling. It sets the mind to wondering where the money's going and what sort of politically controversial things the administration is doing because they're not telling anybody,"

said John E. Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a research group in Alexandria that has been critical of the administration's defense priorities.

[Just Me]

18. "Puzzling" is a soft word for "HORRIFYING"!!!

Nothing personal BUT these people are being WAY TOO CALM about the abuses taking place.

We are dealing with American Dictators (fascists, actually).

Better stop being soft when it comes to these corporateering bastards.

[Joebert]

22. By saying puzzling, they will get press.

By saying horrifying, they'll be shut down.

Perhaps a (fictional?) FoxNews reports... "Federal agents raided a news organization, that turned out to be a front for funding and supporting terrorist cells in the United States. Furthermore, vials of what appeared to be Anthrax were found in a valut. As the raid unfolded, several people opened fire on the FBI, who returned fire, killing all involved."

And the story dies.

[leesa]

10. So they can't afford the manpower so they are going to outsource it for

how much more money???

Will they outsource to Saudi Arabia?

[notadmblnd]

12. My guess...

some Israeli firms.

[librechik]

14. let's see, who's good at psyops?

short list--China, Israel, Korea, Germany?

[Just Me]

19. ROTFLMAO!!!

[anotherdrew]

13. gee ya supose these contracts might go to bush toadies?

Do these scumbags even do competivie bidding anymore?

[knowbody0]

15. it is working so well here

why not go abroad?

[progressivebydesign]

20. Florida.. why always Florida??? n/t