Comments on: Propaganda or Plain Ol’ PR?

By: primetime

primetime — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:31:34 +0000

It is only Propaganda when you are in disagreement with it or those who disseminate it. Brian and his counterparts are normal people trying to do a good job. Some are idiots and time servers waiting to translate their experience into money on the outside and some are committed public servants.

By: Zathras

Zathras — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:59:31 +0000

Perhaps this is just a coincidence, but I noticed on the first page of Barstow’s NYT story the following:

Kenneth Allard, a former NBC military analyst who has taught information warfare at the National Defense University, said the campaign amounted to a sophisticated information operation. “This was a coherent, active policy,” he said. As conditions in Iraq deteriorated, Mr. Allard recalled, he saw a yawning gap between what analysts were told in private briefings and what subsequent inquiries and books later revealed.

“Night and day,” Mr. Allard said, “I felt we’d been hosed.”

Is this the same guy quoted here?

By: Dan d'Errico

Dan d'Errico — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 01:29:00 +0000

AS with every part of the civilian government, it's either a spin doctoring or what actually occured. Very little of what occured will get out if it has to approved by the SecDef first. Especially if it appears to blacken his tenure in the pentagon If the retired military is brought in to say it's true or not, remember they're retired. A not in the "loop any more" General is like a not in the "loop any more" seargent. But if you're going to report the Pentagon stories, no matter what they are, Get into the loop and get your opinion with facts aired in print or televised. I hope that alot more people read this blog and understand that at least one reporter is willing to investigate an item or more to the point where he'll be trusted to give an unbiased story on the air.

By: David M

David M — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:53:19 +0000

The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blog post From the Front: 10/02/2009 News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.

By: CharlesHouston

CharlesHouston — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:15:10 +0000

Most of the unrealistic views have always come from people who were NEVER in the military. Someone who has experienced combat comes away with a deep respect for the need to prepare, and does not casually advise sending people into that situation. I am reminded of Gen Senseki, who relied on his decades of military experience to give advice to Don Rumsfeld.