If we’re so popular in Iraq and Afghanistan, why is it necessary to disguise the source of information we insert in Iraqi and Afghani media?
Consider the following two propositions:
1. The vast majority of Iraqis and Afghanis, other than a few dead-enders, welcome the American presence in their countries and support U.S. objectives there.
2. In distributing pro-U.S. information to Iraq and Afghanistan, it is essential to conceal U.S. sponsorship in order to maintain credibility.
I claim that at most one of those statements can be true.
It’s a little scary that the Pentagon’s propaganda operation falls below the standards Rush Limbaugh sets for himself, isn’t it?
Full details in this Jeff Gerth story from Sunday’s New York Times.
Author: Mark Kleiman
Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out.
Books:
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken)
When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist
Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993)
Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989)
UCLA Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com
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