Boylan is in PSYOPS and his target is US citizens critical of the Iraq war.

He is also a loose canon who will go quietly into the night.

Does anyone have access to information that would confirm his existence? I can't imagine anyone conducting this PSYOPS mission under their real name.

Yeah, but... What's the Goal here?

That's simple. I want everything done within reason to investigate and find out what actually happened. Once the answer is known (or once it is ascertained that it can't be), then it would be clearer what ought to happen next.

For now, I would just like someone with the ability to force an investigation -- the Pentagon, military officials, a larger media organization that he can't refuse to respond to -- to inquire aggressively.

"All that says to me is that he's judged the situation differently than you."

That may hold water if his "judgement" of the situation didn't require the mental and apologetic gymnastics of suggesting that someone in Boylan's office hacked his computer or snuck into his office and posted messages using Boylan's account. Not only does ES offer no evidence for this, but Boylan's own previous behavior and messages he doesn't deny sending on earlier occasions are completely consistent with the tone of the missive that he now disputes sending. Given that, it seems clear that ES is acting as "someone who deliberately espouses a contrary view just to cause trouble." Inventing exceedingly implausible excuses to defend Boylan's behavior certainly rises to the level of trolldom.

They routinely lie to the public and insult their intelligence; they routinely curry favor with wingnut and neocon media outlets, providing extensive propaganda for their dissemination; they routinely ignore or distance themselves from self-described Progressive outlets. They intimidate, threaten and abuse anyone and everyone who challenges their "facts" and disputes the Glory of Their Commanders.

Ché Pasa

I could be wrong to base my evaluation of military on my friendship with this one person, but I don't think I am. A professional military spokesperson wouldn't engage in the kind of polemics and outright, easily disproven lying which Boylan demonstrates.

r€nato

I would hate to think that the colonel Boylans are pervasive throughout the military these days. During my time, we had some colonel Boylans and general Petraeuses in our military, but they were a clear minority. Even though Nixon diseased the military during Vietnam with his politicization, it appears the Bush disease is more widespread. If it is, then it must be stopped. Religion and politics will ruin our military and dishonor all those who serve and have served their country, not political masters. Anyone who can’t see how important what Glenn is doing in exposing this through Col. Boylan, is also blinded by the Repug hypocrisy.

Like FISA and violation of our civil liberties, this topic seems to not be “sexy” or sensational enough to attract M$M attention. Colonel Boylan is in a very important position and his demise through official investigation could expose how the M$M has been manipulated and how the American people have been deceived. The PR campaign by the WH and its underlings in the DoD that says the main war in Iraq is with all-Qaeda and joining with our former enemies to defeat al-Qaeda is rotten to the core as is the surge will bring eventual victory.

Jim White’s letter to his senator and others who have sent like letters, is the kind of action, not talk, that can bring this whole thing down. It is Glenn’s brick by brick approach that will break through the wall of deceit and politicalization of our military and ideloogyization of our government.

One speculation I haven't seen fleshed out in this discussion is the extent to which mandating a strictly ideological litmus test for recruitment and promotion in a government agency tends to spread incompetence throughout that agency.

This isn't immediately obvious when talking about the National Park Service, or even the EPA, the FDA or the FCC. When it's FEMA we're talking about, or NASA, or the army, it suddenly becomes a lot clearer.

If I remember correctly, competence was the original justification for creating a permanent Civil Service. Your sister's idiot son couldn't hurt anything if he was in charge of the Monuments Commission, but no one really wanted him in charge of garbage collection in the crucial Fourth Ward. (This was nepotism or patronage at work, I realize, and rarely based on purely ideological tests, but the consequences were similar.)

The right, particularly the social-conservative right, has apparently worked hard over the years to recruit a cadre of officers in the military services which could continue to influence policy across both Republican and Democratic administrations. This has surfaced most notably in James Dobson's pernicious influence on the Air Force Academy, but we've also had the recent warning of General Boykin's unabashedly Christian millennialism. If we looked harder, I suspect that we'd find a lot more of this.

I suppose you might argue that these folks are an aberration, evidence of a shifting Zeitgeist rather than a right-wing conspiracy. Perhaps that is true, yet it is hard to imagine General Boykin remaining on active duty, let alone being promoted, if anyone in the White House or Congress genuinely disavowed his extracurricular activities.

So to Colonel Boylan: If I were his commanding officer, his next efficiency rating would cite political misjudgments which have reflected discredit on this command, and interfered significantly with its mission. In the real world, despite what we wish, or the veterans among us think appropriate, it seems highly unlikely that General Petraeus would -- or could -- render such a judgment.

Good tactics, perhaps, but bad strategy. From the point of view of both the General's and Colonel's ideology, we are scum. That allows them to feel free in taking certain liberties with us, but it doesn't guarantee them ultimate victory, either in Iraq, or here.

Who does Boylan report to and what's his email/address?

And as always, keep it civil.