New Skirmishes in the Information Wars

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Sun, 1 Jan 2006 17:24:45 -0500 (EST)

New Skirmishes in the Information Wars

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http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mike_whi_051231_new_skirmishes_in_th.htm

 

 

December 31, 2005

 

New Skirmishes in the Information Wars

by Mike Whitney

 

http://www.opednews.com

 

There are only two weapons in the imperial tool-chest; force and

deception. The brutal colonial occupation of Iraq has provided us with

a lavish example of the former, but the twin-axel of deception is more

abstruse and difficult to pin down. Sure, there's the flagrant

propaganda that floods right-wing radio and political talk shows, but

that tells us little about the state-sponsored disinformation-programs

that permeate every area of American life.

 

We now know that the Bush administration authorized massive illegal

spying operations and is actively engaged in planting pro-American

stories in the foreign press. These suggest that the administration's

overall theory of information management is much more extensive then

originally imagined. In fact, news and information manipulation is at

the forefront of Bush's war on terror, a comprehensive strategy to

control of every bit of information a citizen hears, sees or reads

from cradle to grave. It is information warfare on a scale that would

make George Orwell cringe.

 

It is only in this context that we can see that the threats made by

George Bush to bomb Al Jazeera are completely consistent with the

administration's overall approach. Controlling information is seen as

a military necessity and those who fashion an alternate narrative are

Washington's sworn enemies. In this respect, we can understand how Al

Jazeera would have to be destroyed to pave the way for greater democracy.

 

When we observe the isolated incidents of the Bush information

strategy it seems disjointed and incoherent.

 

How does the killing of journalists in Iraq connect to the

" Swift-boating " of Dan Rather or Richard Clarke in the American press?

 

How does Condi Rice's new Edward R. Murrow Journalism Program for

aspiring American propagandists relate to blowing up of Al Jazeera

facilities in Kabul and Baghdad?

 

How does the dissemination of false stories in the foreign press

connect to the massive surveillance operations being carried out home

and abroad?

 

Until we are able to combine the many disparate parts of the Bush

information strategy, we are at risk of seeing these illegal

activities as mere aberrations and not as vital cogs in the machinery

of the police-state.

 

There is nothing arbitrary about the massive cloud of secrecy that has

settled on the Bush administration. The government has built an

impervious wall around itself that conceals the venality of the

principle characters and avoids the transparency required for a

healthy democracy.

 

Conversely, the administration has defended its use of the various

investigative agencies; including the CIA, the Defense Dept., the NSA,

and the FBI, to probe every area of American life. In fact, the

Patriot Act's new provisions (National Security Letters and " lone

wolf " clause) completely dispose of the 4th amendment's right to

privacy (or " probable cause " ) allowing the government to spy on anyone

it sees fit. The recent revelations that government organizations have

been spying on antiwar activists, Quakers and environmentalists,

strongly suggests that Bush is now vacuuming up every bit of available

information on political enemies real or imagined.

 

Is anyone really surprised?

 

The surveillance state is the police state. It manifests itself in the

predictable forms of National ID cards, (which will be mandatory in

less than 2 years) increased repression, (Patriot Act, Homeland

Security Act) deployment of the military within the US, (Northern

Command and threats to activate the military in the event of a

terrorist attack, flu epidemic or natural disaster) and the formation

of a secret police. (Earlier this year Bush formed the NSS; the

National Security Service, his own private police force which operates

outside of congressional oversight)

 

The levers of the fascist state have been carefully assembled behind a

smokescreen of demagoguery provided by fellow-travelers in the

corporate media. And, even though support for the war in Iraq has

steadily declined, the extent of the media's success in confounding

the public cannot be overstated. A vast number of American's still

believe that Saddam was either working with Al Qaida, had WMD, or

contributed to the attacks on 9-11. This is, perhaps, the most

shocking example of media manipulation.

 

The corporate model of media is antithetical to personal freedom. When

the marketplace of ideas is reduced to the solitary task of plying

soapsuds and tennis shoes for big business, democracy is bound to

suffer. Ultimately, commercial media cannot help but become an annex

of the political establishment, developing collusive ties with the

very people it is supposed to scrutinize. Media as " watchdog of power "

is a romantic notion with no real basis in fact. Rather, in its

present manifestation, media serves as a junior partner in the

" weaponizing " of information; transforming the events of the day into

a repetitious mantra extolling the objectives of society's overlords.

 

But the role of the media in the fascist paradigm is not limited to

simply mobilizing public support for unpopular causes. It is a

multi-headed hydra designed to promote the interests of the corporate

and financial sectors while obfuscating the economic and political

facts that are necessary for a strong democracy. This explains why the

critical stories of the day rarely appear on America's network or

cable TV news programs. The Downing Street Memo, Iran's compliance

with the IAEA, the fraudulent Ohio presidential election results, and

the firebombing of Falluja are just a few of the important stories

which have been ignored or drastically underplayed in the mainstream.

The point is, that " omission " of real news is used more frequently

than its soul-mate, propaganda. By excluding the stories that are

essential to shape public consciousness, the media makes war-mongering

and economic exploitation inevitable.

 

The recent Iraqi elections are a stunning example of this. Every TV

news program covered the elections in Iraq the very same way; implying

that they were a historic milestone on the road to democracy. None of

the major media provided an alternate view that might reflect the 62%

of Americans who now believe that the war was " a mistake " . Those views

were scrupulously avoided in the coverage. If the media chieftains

wanted balance, they could have simply inserted the widespread view

that the conflict has nothing to do with either democracy or

sovereignty, but is a savage colonial war facilitated by fanatics to

control Iraq's prodigious oil reserves. Despite the media's impressive

efforts to change that conclusion, the vast majority of people now

accept it as fact.

 

The media is just one part of a culture of deception that permeates

every part of the Bush administration. The recent revelations that the

Pentagon was planting " good news " stories in foreign newspapers, shows

us how tenacious the administration can be in its defense of

disinformation. Rather than admit its guilt and apologize, right-wing

pundits defended the action as " justifiable during wartime " .

 

This demonstrates the level of ideological commitment to lying among

members of the political establishment. It is the best example of the

" end justifies the means " mentality that animates the current regime.

 

The French philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre said, " The essence of the lie

implies, in fact, that the liar is actually in complete possession of

the truth which he is hiding. "

 

Sartre's comment points to the inherent narcissism of lying. This is

especially true of an administration that believes that the facts

should be limited to a particular class of people who are destined to

rule society. Their efforts are an attempt to " privatize " the truth

and limit the circulation of real news to an uber-class of global

plutocrats; Bush and his cadres. Everyone else is expected to lap up

the muddled fables that fill the airwaves or flash from the headlines

of America's leading newspapers.

 

The newly minted " Dept of Strategic Information " is an attempt to

institutionalize lying as a basic function of government. It conflates

perfectly with administration theories on propaganda, deception and

perception-management. The department is allegedly involved in

penetrating every area of public interaction including web pages,

chat-rooms, radio talk-shows, e-mail, foreign newspapers etc. Wherever

the free expression of ideas takes place is a potential battleground

in the information war, a war that is directed against the American

people as much as it is against any foreign power. This new division

of the Pentagon, which performs many of the duties of the former TIA,

(Total Information Awareness) is designed to insinuate itself into

every area of American life looking for better ways to control the

citizenry. It is another giant step towards a rapidly-approaching tyranny.

 

We should never mistake the administration's obfuscations, omissions,

and propaganda as unintentional. Lying is policy and accepting that

fact precedes any meaningful understanding of the Bush administration.

 

Mike lives in Washington State with his charming wife Joan and two

spoiled and overfed dogs, Cocoa and Pat-Fergie.

 

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