Ethics Newsline®

Critics claim the administration manipulated retired military officers in propaganda effort

WASHINGTON
The U.S. military announced last week it was suspending what had become an ethically controversial practice: conducting briefings for retired officers who frequently appear as independent military analysts on TV and radio.

Since 2002, the Pentagon has worked with dozens of military analysts, many of whom have undisclosed ties to companies seeking contracts related to Iraq, in “a campaign to generate favorable coverage of the administration’s wartime performance,” reported David Barstow of the New York Times.

Records and interviews “show that the Bush administration worked to transform the analysts into an instrument intended to shape coverage from inside the major networks,” claims a follow-up Times report.

“Internal Pentagon documents showed that Defense Department officials referred to the retired officers as ’surrogates’ or ‘message force multipliers’ who could be counted on to deliver administration ‘themes and messages’ in the form of their own opinions,” Barstow reports.

Lawmakers in both the Senate and House have asked that the program be investigated.

Rep. Ike Skelton, a Missouri Democrat who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, said “there is nothing inherently wrong with providing information to the public and press, but there is a problem if the Pentagon is providing special access to retired officers and then basically using them as pawns to spout the administration’s talking points of the day,” the Army publication Stars and Stripes reports.

Robert Hastings, the Pentagon’s assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, said the program would be suspended until an independent group, yet to be formed, could review the practice, according to reports from CNN and PBS.

News networks are also being eyed for their role in failing to disclose possible conflicts of interest among the analysts who have appeared tens of thousands of times on air.

“When you put analysts on the air without fully disclosing their business interests, as well as relationships with high-level officials within the government, the public trust is betrayed,” warned Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) in a letter asking five networks to “provide more information on procedures for vetting and hiring military analysts,” notes the Times.

Sources: New York Times, Apr. 26 — Stars and Stripes, Apr. 26 — CNN, Apr. 25 — Editor & Publisher, Apr. 25 — PBS Online Newshour, Apr. 24 — Q&A with Times reporter David Barstow, Apr. 21.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Apr. 21 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 17 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 5, 2005 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 21, 2005 — Related Newsline story, Jan. 31, 2005 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 20, 2004.