American corporate media is a psyops campaign. Are there any enterprising journalists out there interested in checking up on this?

Is there any way to read this other than that some significant portion of the Iraqi media which emerged after Saddam's fall was in fact a fully funded and operational Psychological Operations campaign?

Yes. The best way to read it is the Bush Administration was setting up and paying the media to report the TRUTH. Since the terrorists were mostly in control of the Iraqi media, the Bush Administration and the military decided to create OBJECTIVE media outlets who would not be biased against America and Bush and be biased for the terrorists. Calling this a "operational Psychological Operations campaign" is just left-wing propaganda that you don't want the truth to be reported in Iraq and you would rather have the terrorists control the Iraqi media. You want to make the Iraqi media as pro-terrorists as the liberal controlled media in America.

kevin: Are there any enterprising journalists out there interested in checking up on this?

what's in it for them?

How is this surprising. The Bush Administration *told* us they were going to set up an extensive disinformation wing of the pentagon.

They've done it.

Now we are arguing over whether or not this is what they did.

Jesus beat me to it.

No, I mean Jesus Reyes, up at the top there.

My god is this Al for real.Is there anything of substance that ever gets posted by this thing

A New Oil Regime in the Middle East?

There is considerable danger that the smoke and fire from these three geographic flashpoints—Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon—could converge in a larger regional conflagration. In light of all this potential for apocalyptic mayhem, a discussion of the oil business may seem almost frivolous. But it is important to remember that, historically, the drawing of borders in the Middle East; the establishment of British, French, and later US-backed puppet governments in these faux nations; and the rise of a radical Islamic fundamentalist movement to challenge the Western-backed regimes, have all been fueled by the wealth produced by oil, and by the need for oil on the part of importing countries.

For decades there was a petroleum status quo of sorts in the Middle East: the capacity for production exceeded demand, and OPEC worked to restrain exports in order to keep prices from collapsing; meanwhile big producers like Saudi Arabia served as the world’s petroleum bankers, maintaining the solvency of the system. On only one occasion—the embargo of 1973-74—did the swing producers withhold needed oil flows for political reasons, or cause prices to reach levels unacceptable to consumers (the other major post-1970 oil shocks, due to wars or revolutions, were beyond OPEC’s control).

Now the status quo is crumbling—not so much for political reasons (though those are certainly imaginable, given the situations outlined above), but for reasons of geology.

Questions about the real size of Kuwait’s oil reserves have emerged in the Kuwaiti National Assembly, leading the opposition party to call for production cuts. Remarkably, Kuwait appears to be groping toward implementation of the Oil Depletion Protocol, without ever having heard of it. However, from the standpoint of nations that want to keep the oil flowing so the global industrial party can continue, this is bad news.

Even worse news, potentially, comes from Saudi Arabia, where oil flows have shrunk by some 400,000 barrels per day over the past few months, despite astronomic prices. No one knows for sure what is going on. The Saudis themselves say the production cuts are due to lack of demand, but this hardly seems plausible, unless the kingdom is only able to deliver unwanted heavy, sour crude to market—but even in that case, one would expect flows to increase, with a price discount factored in for resource quality.

At the same time, the Saudis are hiring just about every spare drilling rig in the world, resulting in a dramatically falling rig count in the Gulf of Mexico—a place that would otherwise be seeing an increasing count, given the fact that Mexico’s giant Cantarell field is in now in steep decline, with dire implications for the nation’s economy.

Matthew Simmons (Twilight in the Desert) has been insisting for the past few years that Saudi production is close to peak and that Ghawar, the world’s biggest field, may be in decline. Now many others are speculating that this is the real reason for the falling production figures.

What happens next? It depends on the real condition of Ghawar. Perhaps a heroic drilling campaign could result in a temporary bloom in production, lasting perhaps three years, followed by a swift, terminal collapse. On the other hand, it is possible that the field has been so thoroughly exploited already that we are seeing the irreversible, rapid decline. At the ASPO conference a well-connected industry insider who wishes not to be directly quoted told me that his own sources inside Saudi Arabia insist that production from Ghawar is now down to less than three million barrels per day, and that the Saudis are maintaining total production at only slowly dwindling levels by producing other fields at maximum rates. This, if true, would be a bombshell: most estimates give production from Ghawar at 5.5 Mb/d.

Disturbing Trajectory

While these events in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are not front-page news, they are in their way every bit as significant as the ongoing violence in Iraq and Lebanon, and the ritualistic war dance of the American and Iranian leaders. The Israel and Lebanon situation seems to be about religion, terrorism, and land; the US-Iran situation seems to be about nuclear proliferation. But if one looks beneath the surface, nearly everything of significance that happens in the Middle East is at least partly about oil.

It may be pure coincidence that, just as the world’s biggest oil producers are reaching a historic turning point signaling the end of the energy regime that has held since the end of US production dominance in 1970, a war has erupted between Israel and a militant organization supported by a nation the US plans to attack anyway in order to maintain dominance of world oil supplies going forward. History is full of such coincidences. But coincidence or not, it will be difficult to keep these unfolding realities from rebounding off one another, undermining attempts at a peaceful resolution.

Some commentators speculate that we are seeing the slow-motion commencement of World War III (or IV or V, depending on who’s counting). I have no interest in fueling apocalyptic speculations. My strong wish is for a quick and peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Hezbollah-Lebanese conflict, a US stand-down from confrontation with Iran, and a speedy, voluntary US exit from Iraq.

In his talk at the ASPO conference, Terence Ward repeatedly said that America’s bombing of Iran would make the work of petroleum depletion analysts easier—presumably because skyrocketing oil prices would force everyone to acknowledge that Peak Oil is a reality. On this point I disagree. If the scenario Ward outlined comes to pass, the public’s attention will be fixated on military developments and casualties, with horrific news footage dominating nearly every moment of every television news broadcast. Oil prices will indeed soar and everyone will feel the economic pain from a crashing global economy—but few will look to geology as an explanation. Instead, they will point to the obvious proximate causes—attacks and counterattacks disrupting oil shipments, with speculators pushing prices even higher than they would otherwise go.

as pro-terrorists as the liberal controlled media in America
I'll have 3 of whatever he just had. Reality is getting so tedious.

Kevin didn't include a link to the Cox monograph but I found it via Secrecy News.

"Yes. The best way to read it is the Bush Administration was setting up and paying the media to report the TRUTH."

Yes, that IS the best way to read it. And ze party vill sank you for your loyalty!

Whatever you think of Bush Administration competency in the Iraq War I've got to wonder why any American would want to out American propaganda efforts in Iraq?

You aren't suggesting it is a good idea for American journalists to identify our covert actions in Iraq I hope. I really am surprised to see this coming from Kevin Drum.

For the record, I want the U.S. to pullout of Iraq, believe Bush is a war criminal, and am ashamed of at least half of my fellow countryman here in the U.S. for looking the other way on torture. But exposing U.S. intelligence efforts while troops are in the field would be criminal, would it not?

There's less here than meets the eye. It's a strained interpretation of a passage of a document of unknown veracity. But, hey, it allows conspiracy theories, so go nuts. Also, there were no jews in the WTC on 9/11.

To LeftieUrgingCaution,

I suppose it would depend on whether the operation was a Psy-Op or a Lie-Opp.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Not really surprising, is it?

Normally, the first objective in an invasion is to seize the media outlets. In this case, though, there weren't any, so the military created them and then seized 'em.

Guess Al never heard the old saw that the first victim of war is truth.

If they actually did this, it would have been about the only thing they did right after the invasion. Think about it -- an information vacuum in a country that we just invaded under the auspices of "liberating" it -- why wouldn't they? The idea of the invasion in the first place was stupid. The manner in which it was carried out was stupid -- if not criminal. But PSYOPS in a war zone is surprising? Sorry, but in the long list of reprehensible things for which this administration is responsible, I don't see this on the list. Jesus Reyes was spot on with the first comment. If you're going to be outraged, be outraged at the American "journalists" working for major dailies who gave the exact same thing here -- without even charging the government for services rendered.

What a worthless waste of tax dollars! Doesn't everyone know that "military intelligence" is the ultimate oxymoron? What's really interesting is that Dick Cheney was drunk when he blasted Harry Whittington. Are these Bushies the sickest bunch of puppies you have ever seen or what?

What?? The Chimpster has a decades long history of being a pathological liar. He doesn't tell the truth over here, why would you expect him to have the truth told over there?

We're spreading disinformation over there....because it worked so well over here!!

Calling Dan Rather.

"Calling Dan Rather."

Posted by: Freedom Farter

Heh. Dan had a more consistent grasp of the truth than this administration.

Wow, Kevin, you are really on to some earth-shattering stuff this week.

::::double yawn::::

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

By the end of 2003, every Division had created a number of newspapers, radios and TV stations

PSYOPS or not, isn't it at least a little encouraging that we seem to have had some sort of post-war plan?

Is there any way to read this other than that some significant portion of the Iraqi media which emerged after Saddam's fall was in fact a fully funded and operational Psychological Operations campaign?

Probably not, but certainly one worrisome aspect of this is the old competence issue. Our military has seemed to be sadly lacking in the skills necessary to handle PsyOps in Iraq, you know, the language/culture incomprehension problems. And God forbid (literally in Bush’s view) that any faith or responsibility be placed in some non-military branch of the U. S. government, such as the State Department.

If you want to imagine how poorly the military handled PsyOps, just consider how poorly all the Bush defenders and trolls perform PsyOps on the Washington Monthly website, including this thread.

Calling Dan Rather.Posted by: Freedom Fighter on August 5, 2006 at 3:38 PM | PERMALINK

Best strawman line of the blog.

It's perfectly natural for people who are in denial to go off on tangents like that. Deflection is a weak tool for adults though. You may as well have posted: "look! a puppy!". It would have been a better fit for the pre-pubescent mentality behind the line in the first place.

At any rate, there is a nice little article at Huffington Post about Katie Couric. You can go over there with your "Calling Dan Rather" line. I bet they will slap their knees and guffaw just as hard as you did when you posted it. Just don't forget to flush when you leave. It's just common courtesy

You aren't suggesting it is a good idea for American journalists to identify our covert actions in Iraq I hope. I really am surprised to see this coming from Kevin Drum.

I rather suspect most Iraqis sussed the situation pretty early on. You guys are pretty good at lying to yourselves, not quite so good at concocting tales that have resonance with us foreigners. I guess there's a strong cultural bias to the art of successful lying - to begin with you need a strong sense of what it is that a people want to hear and being culturally tone-deaf doesn't exactly give you a running head start on this.

Judy Miller was read overseas and dismissed overseas.

(the cost of running psyops is higher than any benefit; who would trust any US media outlet in a time of cirisis?)

Can you believe we got a guy in the White House who didn’t know Islam had two major sects before invading Iraq? Do you suppose he knows America has two major political parties? I mean, really?

or even a crisis?

oops.

But on the other hand, you need to have effective means of communications.

No one would doubt us rebuilding telephones and other networks - why not printing presses, copiers, and television broadcasting?

The Devil is in the details, they say, but the concept is no different than building roads and telephones.

Ugh, but of course Al here seems to think there was media, which there wasn't, so it wasn't in anyone's hands, let alone terrorists.

Bleagh.

Aieee, 'expose covert operations'?

These guys are the same that believe our freedom of speech and press don't go beyond our borders.

Or maybe they'd be happier if we didn't actually use those freedoms, it'd be easier for them to operate.

"Given the large number of public relations firms, it was surprising that the Department of Defense selected the Lincoln Group, an organization with NO public relations experience to spearhead an effort to publicize the good news events occuring in Iraq."

There's good news in Iraq?

This is part of the Lincoln Groups mission statement:

"Our professionals often work in foreign communities where crime, insurgency, terrorism, extreme poverty and instability make communications and operations an extreme challenge. So, people often wonder "How Can You Work There?" It's not simple, but we rely on our experience, quality people, flexibility, and a low profile to get the job done. The bottom line to our success often comes down to the fact that we live and work inside these communities. Our staff members are experts on the communities they work in and are able to immerse themselves in them unobtrusively. This level of intimacy allows us greater insight and ensures that our teams always have their finger on the pulse of local perceptions and behaviors."

Seems like they may have been a good choice.

Hey how's that lawsuit publicity tour by Americas most covert spy and her grateful-dead-wannabe husband coming along?

“You can’t have a national unity government when there is no nation, no unity, and no government,” said Galbraith. “Rather than trying to preserve or hold together a unified Iraq, the U.S. must accept the reality of Iraq’s breakup and work with the Shiites, Kurds, and Sunni Arabs to strengthen the already semi-independent regions.”

And yet 11 million voters elected a gov't with Maliki currently at the helm, or did you miss that?

"Do you suppose he knows America has two major political parties?"

I didn't realize the Green Party was considered a major political party. Hmmm...........

Jay quoting the Lincolm Group The bottom line to our success often comes down to the fact that we live and work inside these communities. Our staff members are experts on the communities they work in and are able to immerse themselves in them unobtrusively. This level of intimacy allows us greater blah, blah, blah.

I remember an international comparative study looking at the mathematical ability of 15 year olds and their perceptions of their mathematical ability. Seven countries were looked at. The US kids were last in the first category but far and away first in the second.

Americans crowing about how good they are at stuff. Gee, what a revelation.

Just more "excellence in broadcasting."

On another thread Osama Been Forgotten said America's top export was hot air. Indeed.

(though I'm doing my part to up Canada's output)

I've always noticed that the USA Today headlines are a disturbingly regular parroting of the Bushco talking point of the day. Sometimes, inside editorials will take a different line. Try it and see.

Great post. Ver helpfull.

I have alot of good information like this on my site.
Check it out when you get a chance!

Http://www.axxsis.com

"Our professionals often work in foreign communities where crime, insurgency, terrorism, extreme poverty and instability make communications and operations an extreme challenge. So, people often wonder "How Can You Work There?" It's not simple, but we rely on our experience, quality people, flexibility, and a low profile to get the job done. The bottom line to our success often comes down to the fact that we live and work inside these communities. Our staff members are experts on the communities they work in and are able to immerse themselves in them unobtrusively. This level of intimacy allows us greater insight and ensures that our teams always have their finger on the pulse of local perceptions and behaviors."

The Lincoln Group's mission statement.

Jay, you do realize that a mission statement is simply what an organization says it's about, don't you. This is in no way proof of competency. For that you have to examine records of accomplishment. The Lincoln Group has actually done pretty well on prettying up the Bush cabal's screwups, so I guess you could say they're successful. In terms of morality and good for humanity as a whole...hardly.

Crissa wrote:

"Aieee, 'expose covert operations'?

These guys are the same that believe our freedom of speech and press don't go beyond our borders."
_____________

Don't confuse psyop actions with covert actions. The military is quite open about such things. Psychological warfare is a bit more straightforward than the apparently imagined Goebbels-type black propaganda.

We're supposed to win hearts and minds, no? A military commander in charge of a town needs to get word out about any number of things: where to make a claim for damages, help wanted ads, where to seek the missing, power schedules, public announcements of all sorts, and, yes, exhortations for help and calls for cooperation. The worst thing a commander can do is let rumor take over.

So Colonel Bagadonuts tells his civil affairs people to get the word out and Major Pencilstubb (who is probably a teacher or writer, doing his Reserve job) goes out to look for the local media - which maybe exist but often not. They start by putting out posters and a brigade newsletter and most create some kind of public webpage, but they need a local outlet, since it's dangerous for the locals to be seen reading something with the brigade crest on it. So they search for somebody to set up a local paper and provide some startup cash. They don't try to dictate everything he prints, they just provide their copy and pay for the space. That frees up Major Pencilstubb to go back to handling real problems like dealing with civilian leaders. He details Lieutenant Dumbjohn to write up the Colonel's announcements and get them in the paper. Eventually, coalition press releases get added in, to inform and influence, sometimes paid for, sometimes not. When someone in the military mentions psyop and the press, that's usually what they mean.

The military isn't at all bashful about doing this and they are not going to apologize for it. Are they trying to subvert the press? That's not their intent, but it's also not their concern. They don't see it as their primary job to set up the fourth estate, but to get the word out, as necessary.

Think of it as an exercise in soft power. It beats gathering the populace in the town square for weekly announcements from the back of an armored Humvee.

Am I the only one here who flashed on Sherlock Holmes at the word "monograph?" Just not a word you stumble across very much in modern-day conversations! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to make a whiskey and soda from the Gasogene and grab a cigar from the coal scuttle!

The whole Iraqi media was a psyops operation?

Sure worked great!

A more interesting question is to what extent was the White House relying on its own psyops as evidence of progress in Iraq?

The psyops and intel weinies report through different channels. Not much chance that the CENTCOM chain of command doesn't know the difference. Can't speak for the White House.

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They need a local outlet, since it's dangerous for the locals to be seen reading something with the brigade crest on it. So they search for somebody to set up a local paper and provide some startup cash.

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