The sorry state of US propaganda

Not only did they get busted for buying off Iraqi newspapers to publish pro-US propaganda, it appears that the US propaganda machine has fallen prey to its own specialists ability to create convincing webs of deception and lies. According to today's New York Times one of the main contractors of the US propaganda project in Iraq, the Lincoln Group is but a sham company in itself created as an attempt to take advantage of the current overflow of government funds for inculcating pro-US sentiment in Iraq.

David S. Cloud reports:
"Lincoln won its contracts after claiming to have partnerships with major media and advertising companies, former government officials with extensive Middle East experience, and ex-military officers with background in intelligence and psychological warfare, the documents show. But some of those companies and individuals say their associations were fleeting.

Lincoln has also run into problems delivering on work for the military after its partnerships with more experienced firms fell apart, company documents and interviews indicate. The firm has continued to bid for new business from the Pentagon and has hired two Washington lobbying firms to promote itself on Capitol Hill and with the Bush administration.

"They appear very professional on the surface, then you dig a little deeper and you find that they are pretty amateurish," said Jason Santamaria, a former Marine officer whom the company once described as a "strategic adviser."

I don't know if I should laugh or cry. How can the world's most influential country be so amazingly inept at checking the credentials of even its own propaganda department? No wonder they've managed to get away with basing the whole war in Iraq on bogus intelligence reports.

For the whole story:
Quick Rise for Purveyors of Propaganda in Iraq - NY Times Feb. 15