[Peace-discuss] Operation Homefront

[C. G. Estabrook]

[The often-interesting Capitol Hill Blue gives another account
of why what we do in our local public critique of the war is
so important. And we should remember to ask any active-duty
military speaking in favor of the war, how much they were
"encoraged" to do so. --CGE] 

   Pentagon propaganda program orders soldiers 
   to promote Iraq war while home on leave
   By DOUG THOMPSON
   Publisher, Capitol Hill Blue
   Dec 29, 2005, 05:44

Good soldiers follow orders and hundreds of American 
military men and women returned to the United States on 
holiday leave this month with orders to sell the Iraq war to 
a skeptical public.

The program, coordinated through a Pentagon operation dubbed 
"Operation Homefront," ordered military personnel to give 
interviews to their hometown newspapers, television stations 
and other media outlets and praise the American war effort 
in Iraq.

Initial reports back to the Pentagon deem the operation a 
success with dozens of front page stories in daily and 
weekly newspapers around the country along with upbeat 
reports on local television stations.

"We've learned as a military how to do this better," Captain 
David Diaz, a military reservist, told his hometown paper, 
The Roanoke (VA) Times. "My worry is that we have the right 
military strategy and political strategies now but the 
patience of the American public is wearing thin."

When pressed by the paper on whether or not his commanding 
officers told him to talk to the press, Diaz admitted he was 
"encouraged" to do so.  So reporter Duncan Adams asked:

"Did Diaz return to the U.S. on emergency leave with an 
agenda -- to offer a positive spin that could help counter 
growing concerns among Americans about the U.S. exit 
strategy? How do we know that's not his strategy, especially 
after he discloses that superior officers encouraged him to 
talk about his experiences in Iraq?"

Replied Diaz:

"You don't. I can tell you that the direction we've gotten 
from on high is that there is a concern about public opinion 
out there and they want to set the record straight."

Diaz, an intelligence officer, knows how to avoid a direct 
answer. Other military personnel, however, tell Capitol Hill 
Blue privately that the pressure to "sell the war" back home 
is enormous.

"I've been promised an early release if I do a good job 
promoting the war," says one reservist who asked not to be 
identified.

In interviews with a number of reservists home for the 
holidays, a pattern emerges on the Pentagon's propaganda 
effort. Soldiers are encouraged to contact their local news 
media outlets to offer interviews about the war.  A detailed 
set of talking points encourages them to:

--Admit initial doubts about the war but claim conversion to 
a belief in the American mission;

--Praise military leadership in Iraq and throw in a few 
words of support for the Bush administration;

--Claim the mission to turn security of the country over to 
the Iraqis is working;

--Reiterate that America must not abandon its mission and 
must stay until the "job is finished."

--Talk about how "things are better" now in Iraq.

"My worry is that we have the right military strategy and 
political strategies now but the patience of the American 
public is wearing thin," Diaz told The Roanoke Times.

"It's way better now (in Iraq). People are friendlier. They 
seem more relaxed, and they say, 'Thank you, mister,'" Sgt. 
Christopher Desierto told his hometown paper, The Maui News.

But soldiers who are home and don't have to return to Iraq 
tell a different story.

"I've just been focused on trying to get the rest of these 
guys home," says Sgt. Major Floyd Dubose of Jackson, MS, who 
returned home after 11 months in Iraq with the  Mississippi 
Army National Guard's 155th Combat Brigade.

And the Army is cracking down on soldiers who go on the 
record opposing the war.

Specialist Leonard Clark, a National Guardsman, was demoted 
to private and fined $1,640 for posting anti-war statements 
on an Internet blog. Clark wrote entries describing the 
company's commander as a "glory seeker" and the battalion 
sergeant major an "inhuman monster". His last entry before 
the blog was shut down told how his fellow soldiers were 
becoming increasingly opposed to the US operation in Iraq.

"The message is clear," says one reservist who is home for 
the holidays but has to return and asked not to be 
identified. "If you want to get out of this man's Army with 
an honorable (discharge) and full benefits you better not 
tell the truth about what is happening in-country."

But Sgt. Johnathan Wilson, a reservist,  got his honorable 
discharge after he returned home earlier this month and he's 
not afraid to talk on the record.

"Iraq is a classic FUBAR," he says. "The country is out of 
control and we can't stop it. Anybody who tries to sell a 
good news story about the war is blowing it out his ass. We 
don't win and eventually we will leave the country in a 
worse shape than it was when we invaded."

--