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Infowar ... the Busheyeen version ...
1) Fake grass-roots "support" for Bush's war, which is killing US soldiers
[Note: Mark Crispin Miller is the author of the "Bush Dyslexicon" - Andreas]
2) Newspapers Around US Get Identical Missives from Iraq
==============
1)
http://www.markcrispinmiller.blogspot.com/
Saturday, October 11, 2003
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ENGAGED IN PRO-BUSH/CHENEY PROPAGANDA!
DoD's National Guard Bureau politicking for the GOP in Florida!
IS THE PENTAGON NOW IN COLLUSION WITH KARL ROVE?
Fake grass-roots "support" for Bush's war, which is killing US soldiers!
>From a solid source in Washington:
Mark,
You've asked me to keep my eyes peeled for an obvious example of military
propaganda for several years. Here is a very, very disturbing example. The
example below was sent to me by a highly reliable source who is very pissed
off at Bush's abandonment of US troops fighting and dying in Iraq and
because of Bush's outrageous lies. The example below demonstrates how DoD
has both the intent and capability to distort information and promote war.
The official Department of Defense (DoD) e-mail below contains two parts.
The first part is a prime example of the DoD Propaganda Machine in action
behind-the-scenes. The second part is a letter written by a soldier in Iraq
to a newspaper in Florida. The soldier's letter invokes God and fear to
promote Bush's Iraq War and Bush's 2004 campaign.
The first part of the e-mail was written by LTC Ron Tittle at DoD's National
Guard Bureau (NGB) to commanders in the Florida Army National Guard. LTC
Tittle's e-mail clearly promotes the further distribution of similar letters
from soldiers supporting Bush's invasion and occupation of Iraq.
LTC Tittle's e-mail is easy to verify. His name, e-mail, and phone number
are all part of his e-mail. Therefore, any investigative journalist or major
news outlet can quickly confirm his authorship.
LTC Tittle's e-mail is a one-sided propaganda effort because no one has
found any evidence the NGB distributes letters from soldiers questioning or
opposing the horrible carnage let loose by Bush in Iraq or supporting
another candidate in 2004.
The NGB is promoting the soldier's letter, the war, and Bush in 2004, a
potential violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (soldiers and
officers must remain non-partisan when acting in their official capacity).
In Specialist Joshua Madsen's letter to the Florida Today newspaper, notice
how he places people and events in a good/evil context, how he mentions God
and freedom, and then he invokes fear, fear, fear? These are tried and true
propaganda tactics to garner support for Bush's deadly policy of imperial
war and conquest. LTC Tittle's e-mail and Specialist Madsen's letter ignore
the fact that Bush lied to start the war by claiming Iraq posed a threat to
the US. Both ignore the loss of freedom here in America -- not at the hands
of terrorists, but at the hands of Bush.
In a disgraceful twist to all soldiers, the end of the Specialist Madsen's
letter is a pure and simple pro-Republican partisan campaign pitch for votes
for Bush for President in 2004. While the soldier's right to freedom of
speech should be protected, the actions of LTC Tittle to promote the
soldier's letter are an outrage.
What's the bottom line allegation: LTC Tittle widely distributed an official
e-mail, with a tiny bit of window dressing, to promote Bush's war and Bush's
2004 campaign. This DoD propaganda is as disgusting as it is "over the top."
Someone in the press and Congress needs to investigate LTC Tittle's
one-sided promotional e-mail.
Was the e-mail distribution sanctioned by LTC Tittle's chain of command?
Has Specialist Madsen been promoted or received any favors? Are there other
examples of DoD or NGB promoting the war behind the scenes? Are there
examples of DoD or NGB distributing letters from soldiers questioning the
war or promoting another candidate? Is there any connection between the NGB,
the Florida Army National Guard, and the Bush 2004 campaign?
The people have a right to know if there is an orchestrated official
campaign to distort information about Bush's war against Iraq in an effort
to sway voters in Florida.
Signed, Someone Who Knows
*******
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tittle, Ron E LtCol FL-ARNG"
To: "FLARNG, (ARMY) All Users" ; "FLANG, (Air)
All Users" ; "FLARNG, Command Section"
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2003 12:47 PM
Subject: Article with letter from soldier -
http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/opedstoryA14118A.htm
All Florida National Guard and Department of Military Affairs Personnel,
Families and Friends,
This article was located from public affairs contracted media search and is
distributed as command information. It does not reflect the official
position of the Florida National Guard and Dept. of Military Affairs. It
contains a letter from one of our soldiers in Iraq. We will post his letter
to our website this week - "Letters from the Front."
Respectfully,
Ron Tittle
Ron Tittle, Lt Col, FLANG
Chief, Public Affairs
Florida National Guard
P.O. Box 1008, 82 Marine St
St Augustine, FL 32085-1008
DSN 860-7166/Fax 860-7112
Comm 904-823-0166/Fax 823-0112
Comm Mobile 904-814-7559
http://www.floridaguard.net/news
Sep 27, 6:04 PM
'I ask you to support our president'
FLORIDA TODAY Readers
Editor's note:
Nearly two months ago, a letter was published on this page from Army
Specialist Joshua Madsen of D Company, 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry of the
Florida National Guard, who is serving in Iraq.
Madsen -- a resident of Indian Harbour Beach and a Brevard County
firefighter -- continues to patrol an area that is a stronghold of support
for Saddam Hussein.
In these excerpts from a recent letter to his wife, Rachel, printed with her
permission, the 25-year-old solider talks about escaping death in an ambush
and his support for President Bush's policies.
Dear friends:
I wish I could send you some good news about my return home, but at this
time there is still no word.
The days here have become quite hot. I'd have to say it now reaches about
135 degrees and feels much hotter in the urban areas. When the wind blows it
feels like you've just opened an oven to check a cooking turkey.
The last week or two have been pretty quiet for our company. The word on the
Ar Ramadi streets seems to be spreading that they shouldn't mess with us.
Every day, more and more Iraqis are waving and appear to be a little happier
to see us.
I guess they are really getting the picture that Iraq will never see Saddam
Hussein in power again. Most of the local population have lived their entire
lives in fear of Saddam and his evil dictatorship.
It's also now evident that those who are still on the warpath will at one
time or another find themselves within our crosshairs. This fear of us has
led to a small reduction in attacks over the past several weeks.
It is a welcome change. But nonetheless our tempo remains the same. We are
given news just about every day of another attack here or soldiers killed
there. I guess it's a constant reminder of just how real it is.
We continue to keep our minds focused and our guard up, and we are still
conducting daily patrols and raiding areas where high-value targets exist.
In recent days, it appears that rocket-propelled grenades have been a
hot-ticket item.
Another weapon of choice is the newly famous Improvised Explosive Device.
They can be easily made and placed just about anywhere and set off when U.S.
troops pass by.
These devices are usually used in conjunction with an ambush that contains
several Iraqis firing (automatic weapons) and rocket-propelled grenades.
I know firsthand what these explosive devices are capable of.
The second week I was in Ar Ramadi, the enemy detonated one right in front
of my Humvee while I was the machine gunner in the turret.
Fortunately, the enemy detonated it about half a second too early. It blew
up right in front of us, sending me flying back into the Humvee.
Everything went white and my whole body went numb. It felt like someone had
pressed a reset button for all my nerves.
I quickly came back to reality the minute the Iraqis opened fire from both
sides of the road. Our two Humvees quickly returned suppressive fire and
cleared out of the enemy's war zone.
Most people don't survive enemy ambushes, but we did and I thank God every
day for His presence in my life.
I'm wondering what happened to all the support for our president. All the
headlines I see are all bashing him.
Don't blame the president for sending me away. I knew it was a
possibility -- we all did. We all knew what could happen and the price that
we may have to pay, as did many others before my time and your time.
With our great sacrifices we have given all of you the rights you have
today. We've given you a safe place to raise your family and live, and we've
given you the right to say what you think when you want to. But let me
remind you the world is full of evil people who threaten our way of life,
our freedoms and those around us.
I know right now that the president appears to be spreading the military
throughout the world. However, he wouldn't be doing this without just cause.
It's not just about being an American. It's about being human. We have the
responsibility to help those who cannot help themselves.
I respectfully ask you to support our president, even if you don't
personally agree with him. I respect him for standing up in the face of
adversity and making decisions based on what's important and not just
popular.
I'm sure he's reading the papers, too, and realizes that his chances for
re-election aren't good, but he still continues to make wise choices for the
American people whether they can see it or not.
I will vote for a man who is willing to do that because he has the guts to
do what's right, not what's just popular.
-- Joshua Madsen, Iraq
---------------------
2)
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1011-08.htm
Published on Saturday, October 11, 2003 by The Olympian (Olympia,
Washington)
Many Soldiers, Same Letter
Newspapers Around US Get Identical Missives from Iraq
by Ledyard King, Gannett News Service
WASHINGTON -- Letters from hometown soldiers describing their
successes rebuilding Iraq have been appearing in newspapers across the
country as U.S. public opinion on the mission sours.
And all the letters are the same.
A Gannett News Service search found identical letters from different
soldiers with the 2nd Battalion of the 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment,
also known as "The Rock," in 11 newspapers, including Snohomish, Wash.
The Olympian received two identical letters signed by different
hometown soldiers: Spc. Joshua Ackler and Spc. Alex Marois, who is now a
sergeant. The paper declined to run either because of a policy not to
publish form letters.
The five-paragraph letter talks about the soldiers' efforts to
re-establish police and fire departments, and build water and sewer plants
in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, where the unit is based.
"The quality of life and security for the citizens has been largely
restored, and we are a large part of why that has happened," the letter
reads.
It describes people waving at passing troops and children running up
to shake their hands and say thank you.
It's not clear who wrote the letter or organized sending it to
soldiers' hometown papers.
Six soldiers reached by GNS directly or through their families said
they agreed with the letter's thrust. But none of the soldiers said he wrote
it, and one said he didn't even sign it.
Marois, 23, told his family he signed the letter, said Moya Marois,
his stepmother. But she said he was puzzled why it was sent to the newspaper
in Olympia. He attended high school in Olympia but no longer considers the
city home, she said. Moya Marois and Alex's father, Les, now live near
Kooskia, Idaho.
A seventh soldier didn't know about the letter until his father
congratulated him for getting it published in the local newspaper in
Beckley, W.Va.
"When I told him he wrote such a good letter, he said: 'What letter?'
" Timothy Deaconson said Friday, recalling the phone conversation he had
with his son, Nick. "This is just not his (writing) style."
He spoke to his son, Pfc. Nick Deaconson, at a hospital where he was
recovering from a grenade explosion that left shrapnel in both his legs.
Sgt. Christopher Shelton, who signed a letter that ran in the
Snohomish Herald, said Friday that his platoon sergeant had distributed the
letter and asked soldiers for the names of their hometown newspapers.
Soldiers were asked to sign the letter if they agreed with it, said Shelton,
whose shoulder was wounded during an ambush earlier this year.
"Everything it said is dead accurate. We've done a really good job,"
he said by phone from Italy, where he was preparing to return to Iraq.
Sgt. Todd Oliver, a spokesman for the 173rd Airborne Brigade, which
counts the 503rd as one of its units, said he was told a soldier wrote the
letter, but he didn't know who. He said the brigade's public affairs unit
was not involved.
"When he asked other soldiers in his unit to sign it, they did,"
Oliver explained in an e-mail response to a GNS inquiry. "Someone, somewhere
along the way, took it upon themselves to mail it to the various editors of
newspapers across the country."
Lt. Col. Bill MacDonald, a spokesman for the 4th infantry Division
that is heading operations in north-central Iraq, said he had not heard
about the letter-writing campaign.
Neither had Lt. Cmdr. Nick Balice, a spokesman for U.S. Central
Command in Tampa, Fla.
A recent poll suggests that Americans are increasingly skeptical of
America's prolonged involvement in Iraq. A USA Today-CNN-Gallup Poll
released Sept. 23 found 50 percent believe that the situation in Iraq was
worth going to war over, down from 73 percent in April.
The letter talks about the soldiers' mission, saying, "one thousand of
my fellow soldiers and I parachuted from ten jumbo jets." It describes
Kirkuk as "a hot and dusty city of just over a million people." It tells
about the progress they have made.
"The fruits of all our soldiers' efforts are clearly visible in the
streets of Kirkuk today. There is very little trash in the streets, many
more people in the markets and shops, and children have returned to school,"
the letter reads. "I am proud of the work we are doing here in Iraq and I
hope all of your readers are as well."
Sgt. Shawn Grueser of Poca, W.Va., said he spoke to a military public
affairs officer whose name he couldn't remember about his accomplishments in
Iraq for what he thought was a news release to be sent to his hometown paper
in Charleston, W.Va. But the 2nd Battalion soldier said he did not sign any
letter.
Although Grueser said he agrees with the letter's sentiments, he was
uncomfortable that a letter with his signature did not contain his own words
or spell out his own accomplishments.
"It makes it look like you cheated on a test, and everybody got the
same grade," Grueser said by phone from a base in Italy where he had just
arrived from Iraq.
Moya Marois said she is proud of her stepson Alex, the former Olympia
resident. But she worries that the letter tries to give legitimacy to a war
she doesn't think was justified.
"We're going to support our son," she said. But "there are a lot of
Americans that are not in support of this war that would like to see them
returned home, and think it's going to get worse."
©2003 The Olympian
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