Asterix Posted December 13, 2004 #1 Share Posted December 13, 2004 The Pentagon is engaged in bitter, high-level debate over how far it can and should go in managing or manipulating information to influence opinion abroad, senior Defense Department civilians and military officers say. Such missions, if approved, could take the deceptive techniques endorsed for use on the battlefield to confuse an adversary and adopt them for covert propaganda campaigns aimed at neutral and even allied nations. Critics of the proposals say such deceptive missions could shatter the Pentagon's credibility, leaving the American public and a world audience skeptical of anything the Defense Department and military say - a repeat of the credibility gap that roiled America during the Vietnam War. The efforts under consideration risk blurring the traditional lines between public affairs programs in the Pentagon and military branches - whose charters call for giving truthful information to the media and the public - and the world of combat information campaigns or psychological operations Full Story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Manfred Posted December 13, 2004 #2 Share Posted December 13, 2004 They're actually considering this? If it is implimented it will be another step towards America's downfall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asterix Posted December 13, 2004 Author #3 Share Posted December 13, 2004 (edited) They're actually considering this? It seems that the thought has crossed their mind, yeah As if the US policy wasn't...hmm, how to put it...disliked enough, they come up with something like this, just to offend the International Community a bit further, and make countries even more wary of the US policy. What shocked me the most was that line that said "...for covert propaganda campaigns aimed at neutral and even allied nations." There's only one way to interpret that, and that is a clear and obvious involvment of US in other countries' politics and affairs, including allied countries, such as Germany, France, Belgium, Japan, to name randomly 4... Edited December 13, 2004 by Asterix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zephyr Posted December 13, 2004 #4 Share Posted December 13, 2004 Yes; it would be great if everyone published the truth about what they were going to do next! Maybe it should even be made a charter over at the UN! Why didnt they think of this before? Well, better late than never! Imagine Al-Qaeda announcing the time and place of their next fireworks! Or is it just America that's supposed to announce hers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted December 13, 2004 #5 Share Posted December 13, 2004 Thank you zephyr...like any government in the world is going to announce their intentions to the rest of the world. I believe in being true to your country but blind to it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blood Angel Posted December 14, 2004 #6 Share Posted December 14, 2004 OH! I get it, all that load of b******s about WMDs in iraq was a test run..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insight Posted December 14, 2004 #7 Share Posted December 14, 2004 Yes; it would be great if everyone published the truth about what they were going to do next! Maybe it should even be made a charter over at the UN! Why didnt they think of this before? Well, better late than never! Imagine Al-Qaeda announcing the time and place of their next fireworks! Or is it just America that's supposed to announce hers? 402011[/snapback] Well, the CIA control's Al-Qaeda, so it is really only about America annoucing it's plans to us, which it won't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bathory Posted December 14, 2004 #8 Share Posted December 14, 2004 Well, the CIA control's Al-Qaeda, so it is really only about America annoucing it's plans to us, which it won't. you tell em Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellar Posted December 14, 2004 #9 Share Posted December 14, 2004 (edited) Common insight, no need to drag conspiracy theories in here... Edited December 14, 2004 by Stellar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asterix Posted December 14, 2004 Author #10 Share Posted December 14, 2004 Yes; it would be great if everyone published the truth about what they were going to do next! 402011[/snapback] Have I understood correctly? Are you actually saying that this is a good thing? If indeed so, then you should consider two very serious aspects. 1) "publish the truth" is illegal; it's called involvment in other countries' internal affairs, and it's actually called: "spying". 2) "Publish the truth" means publish the version of the truth that serves the country that publishes it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Caspian Hare Posted December 15, 2004 #11 Share Posted December 15, 2004 I'm pretty sure he's being sarcastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zephyr Posted December 15, 2004 #12 Share Posted December 15, 2004 Yes; it would be great if everyone published the truth about what they were going to do next! 402011[/snapback] Have I understood correctly? Are you actually saying that this is a good thing? If indeed so, then you should consider two very serious aspects. 1) "publish the truth" is illegal; it's called involvment in other countries' internal affairs, and it's actually called: "spying". 2) "Publish the truth" means publish the version of the truth that serves the country that publishes it. 404058[/snapback] I was saying that it's naive to believe that 'covert propaganda' is something new and is only being done by the Americans! 1) Spying might be illegal, but can you name a country that doesn't do it? 2) Did you expect a country to publish something that serves another country? It's a bit funny that one country is being singled out for what has been common practice by all countries throughout history! The same goes for 'involvement in other countrie's internal affairs'! I can name a few countries that have done so in very recent history besides the US, and done so not only through simple propaganda! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asterix Posted December 15, 2004 Author #13 Share Posted December 15, 2004 Only difference is, that countries spy on their enemies, not on their allies. Of course you could argue that alliances are meant to be changed, and that the ally of today is the enemy of tomorrow, but a strategy of this kind has only one outcome: you end up being isolated and without any allies.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zephyr Posted December 15, 2004 #14 Share Posted December 15, 2004 All this is very good theory, but far from the realities of the world we live in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Caspian Hare Posted December 15, 2004 #15 Share Posted December 15, 2004 Only difference is, that countries spy on their enemies, not on their allies. Countries do spy on their allies. Everyone spies on everyone. Supposedly US official policy is not spy on Britain, Canada and Australia because of our historical ties, but we have no way of knowing if this is upheld. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asterix Posted December 16, 2004 Author #16 Share Posted December 16, 2004 Countries do spy on their allies. Everyone spies on everyone. 405639[/snapback] Depends on what you mean by "spying". If you mean "monitoring", then of course they do. But spying can go to further espionage tactics, more influential and more "active" in a way. And I don't think that Great Britain, for example, tries actively to change the goverment in, say, Australia... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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