Report: Army targeted senators with psyops

[BridgeTheGap]

The U.S. army reportedly deployed a specialized "psychological operations" team to help convince American legislators to boost funding and troop numbers for the war in Afghanistan.

The operation was ordered by three-star general in charge of training Afghan troops Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, Rolling Stone Magazine reported in a story published late on Wednesday.

An officer in charge of the unit objected when he was ordered to pressure the visiting senators and was harshly reprimanded by superiors, according to the magazine.

"My job in psyops is to play with people's heads, to get the enemy to behave the way we want them to behave," the officer, Lt. Colonel Michael Holmes, told Rolling Stone.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41753749/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

[Lint Head]

1. We are and have been lied to about basically everything. What's new?

[HereSince1628]

2. Contemporary American politics is nothing but psyops.

This leaves me disgusted, but not surprised.

I seem to remember a republican gov. named Romney claiming he was brainwashed by the military back in the late 1960s.

You can bet that Caldwell will not be punished, Holmes will not be so fortunate as to have an actual trial.

[siligut]

3. Now; what will happen to Lt. Gen. William Caldwell?

And will we hear about it? And what will happen to Lt. Colonel Michael Holmes? And will we hear about it? The rogues are becoming braver, maybe because they believe they have the backing of those in power?

[Roci]

4. I f I were

in the White House, he's be busted so low, he'd end this week by saluting Buck Privates in Greenland. This is the same sort of "stuff" that Truman relieved MacArthur for, and this man ought to be gone even faster.

[siligut]

5. Did you read some of the comments?

They range from your sentiment to; "These techniques are something any good salesman uses prior to a sales call." I agree with you, Lt. Colonel Michael Holmes broke the law.

[seafan]

6. Once again, this is a violation of federal law, The Smith-Mundt Act of 1948

The Smith-Mundt Act of 1948, which 'prohibits the U.S. government from propagandizing the American public with information and psychological operations directed at foreign audiences...'


And this isn't the first time.


Remember this critically important story from 2008? Absolutely NOTHING was done about it.





39 days since NYT exposed Pentagon's domestic TV propaganda program using retired generals..., May 29, 2008



Rumsfeld's Roadmap to Propaganda,
30 October 2003
The National Security Archive


All the above links are discussed in this entry.


And, here we are today:


Report: Army targeted US Senate and House with psyops, MSNBC

February 24, 2011

.....

The operation was ordered by three-star general in charge of training Afghan troops Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, Rolling Stone Magazine reported in a story published late on Wednesday.

An officer in charge of the unit objected when he was ordered to pressure the visiting senators and was harshly reprimanded by superiors, according to the magazine.

"My job in psyops is to play with people's heads, to get the enemy to behave the way we want them to behave," the officer, Lt. Colonel Michael Holmes, told Rolling Stone.

"I'm prohibited from doing that to our own people. When you ask me to try to use these skills on senators and congressman, you're crossing a line," he added.

Among those targeted were senators John McCain, Joe Lieberman, Jack Reed, Al Franken and Carl Levin, as well as Representative Steve Israel of the House Appropriations Committee, the magazine said.

The team also targeted Admiral Mike Mullen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

.....

U.S. law bars the military from using psyops on Americans, and every defense authorization bill explicitly prohibits the manipulation, the magazine reported.

"Everyone in the psyops, intel ... knows you're not supposed to target Americans," a veteran member of similar team told Rolling Stone. "It's what you learn on day one."

A bit from yesterday's article in Rolling Stone:

The U.S. Army illegally ordered a team of soldiers specializing in "psychological operations" to manipulate visiting American senators into providing more troops and funding for the war, Rolling Stone has learned – and when an officer tried to stop the operation, he was railroaded by military investigators.

.....

And the criminals still walk free.

[BridgeTheGap]

7. Thanks for the reminder on this important story. Too easy for them slip down the memory hole! n.t