After asking for some water bottles to be removed from the shot, Barber then staged what was described as a brief rehearsal, in which she asked the soldiers to act out the order of their answers and which topics each would cover.

"If the question comes up about partnering — how often do we train with the Iraqi military — who does he go to?" Barber asked.

"That's going to go to Captain Pratt," one of the soldiers said.

"And then if we're going to talk a little bit about the folks in Tikrit — the hometown — and how they're handling the political process, who are we going to give that to?" she asked. Barber later said the soldiers were coached on general themes the president wanted to discuss, not specific questions.

Once Bush got on the line, he thanked the soldiers and told them that the American people were behind them. "You've got tremendous support here at home," Bush said. A recent AP-Ipsos poll showed less than 40 percent of Americans approved of the way the president is handling the war in Iraq and that just over 50 percent now believe the war was a mistake.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan denied that the event was staged and said the troops were expressing their own feelings. He explained that "coordination" is often needed to overcome such technological challenges as delays in transmission in the satellite feed.

"I think all they were doing was talking to the troops and letting them know what to expect," McClellan said, explaining that the president wanted to talk with troops on the ground who have firsthand knowledge about the situation.

"The troops can ask the president whatever they want," McClellan said. "They've always been free to do that." According to the Los Angeles Times, Bush did not invite the soldiers to ask any questions and none of them elected to do so.

Time magazine reporter Tim Allen told CNN that the White House has said the exchange was "rehearsed, but not scripted," and that it's not unusual for lower level officers to be briefed before speaking to the commander in chief. What's unusual, Allen said, was for the typically buttoned-down Bush White House to allow the reporting pool to see this type of prepping.

"It bolsters the perception that this administration relies too much on spin," Allen said.

According to the AP, the soldiers all gave the president an upbeat assessment of the situation in Iraq.

1st Lt. Gregg Murphy of Tennessee told the president that preparations for the vote were on track. "Sir, we are prepared to do whatever it takes to make this thing a success. ... Back in January, when we were preparing for that election, we had to lead the way. We set up the coordination, we made the plan. We're really happy to see, during the preparation for this one, sir, they're doing everything."

Master Sgt. Corine Lombardo from Scotia, N.Y., told the president that the training of Iraqi troops was going well. "I can tell you over the past 10 months, we've seen a tremendous increase in the capabilities and the confidences of our Iraqi security force partners," she said. "Over the next month, we anticipate seeing at least one-third of those Iraqi forces conducting independent operations."

That assessment came on the same day that a Pentagon report to Congress made public revealed that Iraqi security forces are at least a year away from being able to take over responsibility from U.S. troops in fighting the increasingly deadly insurgency in the country. Several weeks ago, U.S. commanders in Iraq gave a sobering account to Congress about the readiness of Iraqi troops, in which they said the number of 800-men battalions that were ready to operate independently had actually dropped, from three to one.

In another nod to one of the president's recurring themes, Lombardo then told the president that she was in New York on November 11, 2001, when Bush attended an event honoring soldiers for their rescue efforts at Ground Zero. She said that the troops began fighting terrorism following the September 11 attacks and that they were "proud" to continue that fight in Iraq.

"I thought you looked familiar," Bush said, joking, "I probably look familiar to you, too."

An anonymous senior member of the military told the Los Angeles Times that, "Officers are upset that military people would be coached as to how to talk to the president. ... It's against everything that people in uniform stand for." The AP reported that half the troops involved were officers, and the leader of an advocacy group for Iraq war veterans said, "If he wants the real opinions of the troops, he can't do it in a nationally televised teleconference. ... He needs to be talking to the boots on the ground, and that's not a bunch of captains." Gil Kaufman on MTV [?]

Total control - Managed Human resources

"An Opcentre puts influence, control and power back into the hands of the government and military, giving them greater power to influence the enemy in time of conflict and enhanced access to their citizens during a crisis. For instance, an Opcentre can be designed to override all national radio and TV broadcasts, allowing the government and military to communicate with the public as the need arises. "

PSYOPs by Strategic communications labs Must read: You Can't Handle the Truth Psy-ops propaganda goes mainstream.

America's war on the web

sunday herald 02 April 2006

While the US remains committed to hunting down al-Qaeda operatives, it is now taking the battle to new fronts. Deep within the Pentagon, technologies are being deployed to wage the war on terror on the internet, in newspapers and even through mobile phones. Investigations editor Neil Mackay reports

IMAGINE a world where wars are fought over the internet; where TV broadcasts and newspaper reports are designed by the military to confuse the population; and where a foreign armed power can shut down your computer, phone, radio or TV at will.

In 2006, we are just about to enter such a world. This is the age of information warfare, and details of how this new military doctrine will affect everyone on the planet are contained in a report, entitled The Information Operations Roadmap, commissioned and approved by US secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld and seen by the Sunday Herald.

The Pentagon has already signed off $383 million to force through the document's recommendations by 2009. Military and intelligence sources in the US talk of "a revolution in the concept of warfare". The report orders three new developments in America's approach to warfare:

Firstly, the Pentagon says it will wage war against the internet in order to dominate the realm of communications, prevent digital attacks on the US and its allies, and to have the upper hand when launching cyber-attacks against enemies.

Secondly, psychological military operations, known as psyops, will be at the heart of future military action. Psyops involve using any media – from newspapers, books and posters to the internet, music, Blackberrys and personal digital assistants (PDAs) – to put out black propaganda to assist government and military strategy. Psyops involve the dissemination of lies and fake stories and releasing information to wrong-foot the enemy.

Thirdly, the US wants to take control of the Earth's electromagnetic spectrum, allowing US war planners to dominate mobile phones, PDAs, the web, radio, TV and other forms of modern communication. That could see entire countries denied access to telecommunications at the flick of a switch by America.

Freedom of speech advocates are horrified at this new doctrine, but military planners and members of the intelligence community embrace the idea as a necessary development in modern combat.

Human rights lawyer John Scott, who chairs the Scottish Centre for Human Rights, said: "This is an unwelcome but natural development of what we have seen. I find what is said in this document to be frightening, and it needs serious parliamentary scrutiny."

Crispin Black – who has worked for the Joint Intelligence Committee, and has been an Army lieutenant colonel, a military intelligence officer, a member of the Defence Intelligence Staff and a Cabinet Office intelligence analyst who briefed Number 10 – said he broadly supported the report as it tallied with the Pentagon's over-arching vision for "full spectrum dominance" in all military matters.

"I'm all for taking down al-Qaeda websites. Shutting down enemy propaganda is a reasonable course of action. Al-Qaeda is very good at [information warfare on the internet], so we need to catch up. The US needs to lift its game," he said.

This revolution in information warfare is merely an extension of the politics of the "neoconservative" Bush White House. Even before getting into power, key players in Team Bush were planning total military and political domination of the globe. In September 2000, the now notorious document Rebuilding America's Defences – written by the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), a think-tank staffed by some of the Bush presidency's leading lights – said that America needed a "blueprint for maintaining US global pre-eminence, precluding the rise of a great power-rival, and shaping the international security order in line with American principles and interests".

The PNAC was founded by Dick Cheney, the vice-president; Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary; Bush's younger brother, Jeb; Paul Wolfowitz, once Rumsfeld's deputy and now head of the World Bank; and Lewis Libby, Cheney's former chief of staff, now indicted for perjury in America.

Rebuilding America's Defences also spoke of taking control of the internet. A heavily censored version of the document was released under Freedom of Information legislation to the National Security Archive at George Washington University in the US.

The report admits the US is vulnerable to electronic warfare. "Networks are growing faster than we can defend them," the report notes. "The sophistication and capability of … nation states to degrade system and network operations are rapidly increasing."

T he report says the US military's first priority is that the "department [of defence] must be prepared to ‘fight the net'". The internet is seen in much the same way as an enemy state by the Pentagon because of the way it can be used to propagandise, organise and mount electronic attacks on crucial US targets. Under the heading "offensive cyber operations", two pages outlining possible operations are blacked out.

Next, the Pentagon focuses on electronic warfare, saying it must be elevated to the heart of US military war planning. It will "provide maximum control of the electromagnetic spectrum, denying, degrading, disrupting or destroying the full spectrum of communications equipment … it is increasingly important that our forces dominate the electromagnetic spectrum with attack capabilities". Put simply, this means US forces having the power to knock out any or all forms of telecommunications on the planet.

After electronic warfare, the US war planners turn their attention to psychological operations: "Military forces must be better prepared to use psyops in support of military operations." The State Department, which carries out US diplomatic functions, is known to be worried that the rise of such operations could undermine American diplomacy if uncovered by foreign states. Other examples of information war listed in the report include the creation of "Truth Squads" to provide public information when negative publicity, such as the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, hits US operations, and the establishment of "Humanitarian Road Shows", which will talk up American support for democracy and freedom.

The Pentagon also wants to target a "broader set of select foreign media and audiences", with $161m set aside to help place pro-US articles in overseas media.

Bush 'planted fake news stories on American TV'

By Andrew Buncombe in Washington - Published: 29 May 2006 --independent.co.uk

Federal authorities are actively investigating dozens of American television stations for broadcasting items produced by the Bush administration and major corporations, and passing them off as normal news. Some of the fake news segments talked up success in the war in Iraq, or promoted the companies' products.

Investigators from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are seeking information about stations across the country after a report produced by a campaign group detailed the extraordinary extent of the use of such items.

The report, by the non-profit group Centre for Media and Democracy, found that over a 10-month period at least 77 television stations were making use of the faux news broadcasts, known as Video News Releases (VNRs). Not one told viewers who had produced the items.

"We know we only had partial access to these VNRs and yet we found 77 stations using them," said Diana Farsetta, one of the group's researchers. "I would say it's pretty extraordinary. The picture we found was much worse than we expected going into the investigation in terms of just how widely these get played and how frequently these pre-packaged segments are put on the air."

Ms Farsetta said the public relations companies commissioned to produce these segments by corporations had become increasingly sophisticated in their techniques in order to get the VNRs broadcast. "They have got very good at mimicking what a real, independently produced television report would look like," she said.

The FCC has declined to comment on the investigation but investigators from the commission's enforcement unit recently approached Ms Farsetta for a copy of her group's report.

The range of VNR is wide. Among items provided by the Bush administration to news stations was one in which an Iraqi-American in Kansas City was seen saying "Thank you Bush. Thank you USA" in response to the 2003 fall of Baghdad. The footage was actually produced by the State Department, one of 20 federal agencies that have produced and distributed such items.

Many of the corporate reports, produced by drugs manufacturers such as Pfizer, focus on health issues and promote the manufacturer's product. One example cited by the report was a Hallowe'en segment produced by the confectionery giant Mars, which featured Snickers, M&Ms and other company brands. While the original VNR disclosed that it was produced by Mars, such information was removed when it was broadcast by the television channel - in this case a Fox-owned station in St Louis, Missouri.

Bloomberg news service said that other companies that sponsored the promotions included General Motors, the world's largest car maker, and Intel, the biggest maker of semi-conductors. All of the companies said they included full disclosure of their involvement in the VNRs. "We in no way attempt to hide that we are providing the video," said Chuck Mulloy, a spokesman for Intel. "In fact, we bend over backward to make this disclosure."

The FCC was urged to act by a lobbying campaign organised by Free Press, another non-profit group that focuses on media policy. Spokesman Craig Aaron said more than 25,000 people had written to the FCC about the VNRs. "Essentially it's corporate advertising or propaganda masquerading as news," he said. "The public obviously expects their news reports are going to be based on real reporting and real information. If they are watching an advertisement for a company or a government policy, they need to be told."

The controversy over the use of VNRs by television stations first erupted last spring. At the time the FCC issued a public notice warning broadcasters that they were obliged to inform viewers if items were sponsored. The maximum fine for each violation is $32,500 (£17,500).

Fake TV News: Findings

Video News Releases

From June 2005 to March 2006, the Center for Media and Democracy documented television newsrooms' use of selected video news releases (VNRs) and satellite media tour (SMT) "interviews." While these 36 examples represent less than one percent of VNRs offered to newsrooms each year, this report provides the most comprehensive survey of fake TV news to date.

Click on the links below to read more about each VNR or SMT, including the client(s) that funded it, the TV stations that aired it, and the deceptive techniques that newsrooms used to disguise it as genuine journalism. You can also compare Quicktime videos of the original VNRs with selected newscasts that incorporated them.

	A Fake News Report About Fake E-Mail Trend Micro
	A software company VNR is nationally syndicated through the Tribune network.
	Safety Information Sold Separately Stiefel Laboratories
	A pharmaceutical company dodges federal regulations through fake TV news.
	Work Woes at WBFS-33 Towers Perrin
	A Florida newscast uses a station reporter to disguise a VNR as journalism.
	"Is Your Child Constantly Sick?" Quest Diagnostics
	An L.A. station drops a two-minute medical commercial into their newscast.
	Shopping Advice from a Store-Bought Expert Panasonic, Namco, Techno Source
	A seemingly-impartial consumer advocate shills for three corporations.
	A Planted Story on Ethanol Plants Siemens AG
	Five stations run an optimistic news feature that's secretly fueled by profit.
	Prescription-Strength Spin at WCBS-2 Leiner Health Products
	A top-market station turns a corporate VNR into an imbalanced medical feature.
	A Spitting Image of Genuine News American Dental Association
	The Fox Network adopts a dental industry VNR and distributes it nationally.
	Changing the Past, One Newscast At a Time General Motors
	Three stations help GM stake a false claim in Internet history.
	The "Internet Mom" Strikes Again Texas Instruments, Motorola, Nokia, Swiffer
	A TV tech expert is secretly paid to promote consumer electronic products.
	Steering Wheel Spin On Three Newscasts Siemens VDO
	A fake report on state-of-the-art car mechatronics is purely corporate-driven.
	Journalistic Malpractice at WSYR-9 Bioibérica
	A Clear Channel station inflicts fake and misleading health news on their viewers.
	Pharma Deception in San Francisco Pfizer
	Half of a station's "medical breakthrough" story comes from a drug company VNR.
	What's In Your Newscast? Capital One
	An NBC station scams its viewers with an anti-scam VNR from a national bank.
	At Halloween Time, the Candy Ads Dress Up as News Masterfoods, 1-800-Flowers
	A St. Louis TV reporter does a word-for-word re-voice on a publicist VNR.
	A Few Good Wrenches General Motors
	Three stations run a VNR designed to help GM recruit young mechanics.
	Bad Business in Beantown Toshiba, Fisher Price, Scholastic Media
	A New England NBC affiliate serves viewers a Christmas sham.
	Technology Report Secretly Has Intel Inside Intel
	A Sinclair-owned station keeps deceiving their viewers with fake journalism.
	VNR Gets Extra Mileage Out of Car Commercial Cadillac
	A news report about a Cadillac ad is actually a Cadillac ad itself.
	A Press Push for Pancakes General Mills
	Four newscasts deceive their viewers with a stealth ad for Bisquick.
	Sandwich Spin, Served Up Fresh Subway
	Local stations make a cold cut combo out of a Subway VNR and SMT.
	Dodge is My Co-Pilot DaimlerChrysler
	Three stations air a VNR that promotes child safety (and Chrysler-brand vehicles).
	Spinning the Other Way at KYW-3 Bioibérica
	A Philadelphia station runs an unlabeled VNR but reverses the story's context.
	Coverage They Can Count On General Motors
	A Michigan newscast delivers an uncut VNR about GM's corporate HQ.
	"Accidental Housewife" Intentionally Hides Her Sponsor Ties Knowledge Adventure, Brother, Build-A-Bear, Tide-to-Go, Drugstore.com
	A TV homemaking expert just happens to love all her clients' products.
	Unfiltered Spin from an Internet Porn-Blocker NetTrekker
	L.A. station adapts a promotional news release about a child-safe search engine.
	Culinary Advice Served From a Can Hass Avocado Board, Heinz, Canned Food Alliance, Circuit City
	On two newscasts, a pair of clowning chefs dish out the paid product promotion.
	Journalism-on-Loan Sallie Mae
	The nation's "#1 paying-for-college" company also pays for favorable news coverage.
	Valarie D'Elia: Frequent Flying Flack Sandals, Viking River Cruises, Air Tahiti Nui
	A travel expert stars in corporate VNRs, then smuggles them into her own TV reports.
	Nashville Station Cheats on Tax Report Jackson Hewitt
	A local ABC news story is secretly filed by a national tax preparation franchise.
	The Buzz Gets a Rush Victoria’s Secret
	A morning show that delivers "news with personality" also delivers VNRs with T&A.
	Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the SmartScreen™ AdSpace Networks
	A CBS station runs fake report on high-tech mall displays.
	No Accounting for Ethics American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
	A Southern ABC station runs a rock & roll news story secretly planted by CPAs.
	A Fresh-Cut Front For the Flower Flacks Flower Promotion Organization
	A planted Valentine's Day report secretly stems from rose peddlers.
	Inorganic Chemistry at KOKH-25 Chemistry.com
	Oklahoma City station runs a fake news feature from an online-dating service.
	A Ruse By Any Other Name... Matrixx Initiatives
	An NBC station tries to turn a brand-name VNR into a generic news report.