So, regardless of who is surprised or not surprised by this outrageous story of blatant military propaganda operations, there is absolutely no excuse for the ensuing media blackout, based on some self-serving pretense that this sort of thing is common knowledge, so "let's move on." The media have the worst of egg on their faces and blood on their hands, and they want desperately for nobody to notice.

DCLaw1

We can be thankful, at least, that this idiot of a president has made such an obvious attempt at deception and subversion to the extent that enough noise can be made in an attempt to wake up a sleeping public.

Trainman

I believe the military, when contemplating walking up to any line, needs to remember what the actual oath they took was. Success of the mission be damned, especially if that mission is in service to those who would shred the Constitution in pursuit of personal power and aggrandizement. They shouldn't have to be admonished in order to remember this.

they consider their orders from the commander-in-chief of a civilian-controlled government to be lawful, and their mission worthy and compelling.

Pedinska

It's both the strength and the weakness of the American civilian-controlled military that they tend to studiously avoid whys and wherefores. Basically, as long as there are institutions like elections and legislative and judicial review, they consider their orders from the commander-in-chief of a civilian-controlled government to be lawful, and their mission worthy and compelling. After that, "there is no 'try'".

Cabdriver

The issue highlights the fact that liberals cry that the press is an arm of the Republican Party, while conservatives cry that the press is "liberal" and favors the Democrats. The press favors who is perceived to be the power at the moment. Let the Democrats take the next election in a landslide and control congress and the whitehouse and we will see that "liberal" press reappear --- well, perhaps only in the minds of the Republicans.

bucky1

The one thing I haven’t noticed mentioned on this thread and mentioned often in past threads, is that propaganda by the Pentagon is illegal. These 8,000 pages, as Glenn has proved, give ample proof for criminals in our government to be prosecuted. Congress must go from testimony and talking, which is needed, to ensuring that the American public will clearly see that they have been violated over and over by the Busheviks, when trials and convictions result. The broadcasters will have no choice but to cover the trials and all the evidence of their own culpability.

Bucky1 points to the other reason that the Busheviks will eventually be held accountable for their law and constitutional violations. If Obama and a Democratic majority are elected in November, the “liberal” press will reappear. The Busheviks have used access, oppression and banishment to control our “free” press. Their approach has built up surpressed anger and resentment that will be released with a Democratic government. You can already see more negative McSame stories starting to appear and when the real race starts and the polls start to show Barack increasing his lead against McSame, the landslide will start. As Trainmen says, we can thank the Busheviks from straying so far from American values that it will serve as a wake up call.

Pedinska is right that our military must always remember their oath of office and keep in mind that they are serving liberty and America first above any men or women. Because of Iraq, there have to be many future military leaders who have experienced first hand the horrors of blindly following civilians into unnecessary wars, who will finally learn, unlike those who experienced Vietnam, that when your strategy and mission are seriously flawed, you must not allow a war to happen. Yes, you follow orders. No, you don’t have to remain silent and hurt your comrades, your nation and the world. You fight as hard as you can to convince your leadership they are wrong and if they don’t listen, you resign and then organize and speak up until your voice is heard. General Shinseki resigned when so many other military leaders stayed silent, but he should have talked loudly and often after resigning instead of remaining silent to this day.

As Phillipe Sands made clear in his testimony about torture to the House Judiciary Committee, you can’t correct serious errors unless you fully investigate what happened, own up to your mistakes and then take responsibility for the consequences. What Glenn and so many others are doing will lead to that result as long as everyone is as dog-eared and determined as Glenn is.

Somewhere in the firmament, I.F. Stone is quietly applauding.

The one thing I haven’t noticed mentioned on this thread and mentioned often in past threads, is that propaganda by the Pentagon is illegal.

Absolutely correct - it is not only morally repugnant, but it is expressly illegal. Outrageously (but unsurprisingly) enough, this enormous fact is the most under-reported facet of this story.

Just file it in the same dark, neglected drawer as warrantless wiretapping, detainee abuse, politicization of the Justice Department, criminal prosecution of political foes, lawlessness of military contractors...

three military contractors in 2005 for foreign propaganda generation (one of which, SAIC, was headed by Gen. Dowling until 7/05)

A correction - SAIC has a long, colorful and controversial history, but one which does not include having Gen. Downing at the helm. It was headed by its founder until 2003, when the new CEO, Ken Dahlberg was named.

Also, from Wikipedia:

The company has had as part of its management and on its Board of Directors many well known public servants, including Melvin Laird, Secretary of Defense in the Nixon administration; William Perry, Secretary of Defense for Bill Clinton; John Deutsch, President Clinton's CIA Director; Admiral Bobby Ray Inman who served in various capacities in the NSA and CIA for the Ford, Carter and Reagan administrations; and David Kay who led the search for weapons of mass destruction for the U.N. following the 1991 Gulf War and for the Bush Administration following the 2003 Iraq invasion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_Applications_International_Corporation

The point you're suggesting, that the 'products' of companies like SAIC, TLG and SyColeman (and let's not leave out BoozAllen and other govt contractors whom we don't think of as 'defense' contractors) would end up being 'repurposed' for illegal domestic use is one that bears watching, IMHO. Consultants float between orgs and projects, and take their templates with them (even though technically the contracts are 'work for hire' and the intellectual property belongs to the client).

My guess, however, is that this MAP didn't need any of those things, and that there's no money trail to follow. Why raise eyebrows with an illegal domestic-use program and contract when you don't have to?