Flacking for the Pentagon:
‘PsyOps,’ ‘Brainwash,’ ‘Parroting’

In the second part of our look at the Pentagon’s document dump regarding the coordinated program to use retired military analysts, we look at an “interview” with former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on April 18, 2006.

Here are some choice excerpts (can you feel the love?):

- One analyst characterizes their efforts to win over the public as “PsyOps. Now most people may hear that and they think oh my God, they’re trying to brainwash… ”

- The same analyst goes on to massage Rummy’s ego when the Pentagon chief expresses doubt about his own PR skills, saying ”You are absolutely brilliant in front of the camera… You go on O’Reilly and you’ve got him eating out of your hand because you’re smart and of course the rest of them are afraid to go near him.”

- The analysts enthusiastically show off their loyalties: “But we would love, I would personally love and I think I speak for most of the gentlemen here at the table, for you to take the offensive, to just go out there and just crush these people so that when we go on we’re forgive me, we’re parroting, but it’s what has to be said.”  

- “If you allow the Chris Matthews and the Wolf Blitzers of the world to immediately start dissecting  the standup of that government and say this guy is bad, Chalabi’s a crook, assuming he’s part of the government, and on and on and on, and you do not respond immediately, we are going to lose that capability to say what we did was honorable and good and right.”

- In terms of describing the threat presented by insurgents and al-Qaeda, one analyst offers: “How do we play this and articulate it so again, it comes out. Killing innocents. That’s all they know how to do is kill innocents.” 

- Rumsfeld tells the analysts that the problem with public perception of the war is that he hasn’t done a good job at communicating his goals and strategies: “I don’t spend any time on that, it just comes out. And that’s probably not smart. It’s a terribly important issue how you say these things and how you impact it.”

- And the kicker, from Rumsfeld: “I’d rather be lucky than smart.”

 

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