Was the Pentagon using TV pundits to spread its propaganda about how well the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are going?
That's what The New York Times claims in a story on Sunday (April 20, 2008).
Now Michigan Sen. Carl Levin wants some answers. Levin has written the Pentagon demanding answers to what looks like an attempt by the military to unfairly influence the information Americans get about the war they're paying for.
"While the media clearly have their own shortfalls for paying people to provide 'independent' analysis when they have such real and apparent conflicts, that doesn't excuse the Department's behavior in giving both special treatment and valuable access to analysts who provide commentary in favor of DoD's strategy, while not offereing similar access to some other analysts and cutting off access to others who didn’t deliver as expected," Levin wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
The Times' story indicates that military analysts hired by television networks to give unvarnished views to the American public on the wars are actually beholden to companies that profit from continuing the war. Furthermore, they are given special privileges by the Pentagon, such as special briefings, access to classified information, and trips to Iraq. Sometimes, these special briefings even include officials who have influence over contracts that are awarded.
In exchange, the TV pundits -- retired miliary officials -- are expected to provide favorable comments in their TV appearances. Those who don't are cut off from the privileges.
Levin's intervention merited the attention of The Times in editions for Saturday (April 26, 2008), as well as media watchdog sites such as Media Matters.
After Levin's letter, the Pentagon announced it was suspending the briefings.
But that shouldn't be enough for Levin. He needs to get to the bottom of what was going on, as he usually does.
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