Pentagon rolls out stealth PR

[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Matt Kelley]
A $300 million Pentagon psychological warfare operation includes plans for placing pro-American messages in foreign media outlets without disclosing the U.S. government as the source. Run by psychological warfare experts at the U.S. Special Operations Command, the media campaign is being designed to counter terrorist ideology and sway foreign audiences to support American policies. The military wants to fight the information war against al-Qaeda through newspapers, websites, radio, television and “novelty items” such as T-shirts and bumper stickers. The program will operate throughout the world, including in allied nations and in countries where the United States is not involved in armed conflict. The description of the program by Mike Furlong, deputy director of the Joint Psychological Operations Support Element, provides the most detailed look to date at the Pentagon's global campaign. The three companies handling the campaign include the Lincoln Group, the company being investigated by the Pentagon for paying Iraqi newspapers to run pro-U.S. stories. Military officials involved with the campaign say they're not planning to place false stories in foreign news outlets clandestinely. But the military won't always reveal its role in distributing pro-American messages, Furlong says.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20051214/1a_lede14.art.htm

* 3 groups have contracts for pro-U.S. propaganda
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20051214/a_propagandainside14.art.htm