The Propoganda War

From the NYTimes:

Titled "The Sands Are Blowing Toward a Democratic Iraq,"
an article written this week for publication in the Iraqi press was scornful of
outsiders' pessimism about the country's future.
"Western press and
frequently those self-styled 'objective' observers of Iraq are often critics of
how we, the people of Iraq, are proceeding down the path in determining what is
best for our nation," the article began. Quoting the Prophet Muhammad, it
pleaded for unity and nonviolence.
But far from
being the heartfelt opinion of an Iraqi writer, as its language implied, the
article was prepared by the United States military as part of a
multimillion-dollar covert campaign to plant paid propaganda in the Iraqi news
media and pay friendly Iraqi journalists monthly stipends, military contractors
and officials said.

This is how the Pentagon defended this practice in the Washington Post:

"This is a military program to help get factual information about ongoing
operations into Iraqi news," said Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a military spokesman
in Baghdad. "Because this is part of our ongoing operations and an important
part of countering misinformation in the news by insurgents, I can't provide
details of what that entails. I want to emphasize that all information used for
marketing these stories is completely factual."