What The Hell!?

RollingStone.com: The Man Who Sold the War : Politics:

As the war in Iraq has spiraled out of control, the Bush administration's covert propaganda campaign has intensified. According to a secret Pentagon report personally approved by Rumsfeld in October 2003 and obtained by Rolling Stone, the Strategic Command is authorized to engage in 'military deception' -- defined as 'presenting false information, images or statements.' The seventy-four-page document, titled 'Information Operations Roadmap,' also calls for psychological operations to be launched over radio, television, cell phones and 'emerging technologies' such as the Internet. In addition to being classified secret, the road map is also stamped noforn, meaning it cannot be shared even with our allies.

As the acknowledged general of such propaganda warfare, Rendon insists that the work he does is for the good of all Americans. 'For us, it's a question of patriotism,' he says. 'It's not a question of politics, and that's an important distinction. I feel very strongly about that personally. If brave men and women are going to be put in harm's way, they deserve support.' But in Iraq, American troops and Iraqi civilians were put in harm's way, in large part, by the false information spread by Rendon and the men he trained in information warfare. And given the rapid growth of what is known as the 'security-intelligence complex' in Washington, covert perception managers are likely to play an increasingly influential role in the wars of the future.

Indeed, Rendon is already thinking ahead. Last year, he attended a conference on information operations in London, where he offered an assessment on the Pentagon's efforts to manipulate the media. According to those present, Rendon applauded the practice of embedding journalists with American forces. 'He said the embedded idea was great,' says an Air Force colonel who attended the talk. 'It worked as they had found in the test. It was the war version of reality television, and for the most part they did not lose control of the story.' But Rendon also cautioned that individual news organizations were often able to 'take control of the story,' shaping the news before the Pentagon asserted its spin on the day's events.

'We lost control of the context,' Rendon warned. 'That has to be fixed for the next war.'

Are you kidding me?! This guy should be tried for mass murder and treason! The people who pay him should be tried for insurrection. Rumsfeld should be tried for crimes against humanity.