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The Pentagon's Coming Epic Fail

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  • The Pentagon's Coming Epic Fail

    THE PENTAGON'S COMING EPIC FAIL
    Joshua Foust

    Registan.net
    10/3/2009

    Let's think about the Pentagon-funded propaganda channel
    Al-Hurra. Originally conceived in 2004, it was meant to be an
    Arabic-language counterpart to the supposed anti-Americanism of other
    Middle Eastern-focused news channels, notably al-Jazeera. Ever since,
    especially given its dismal ratings, the channel has faced criticisms
    from all angles, whether Congress insisting it was still insufficiently
    pro-America and pro-Israel, the GAO noting unacceptable management
    and editorial practices, or, most recently, an investigation by the
    State Department's Investigator General. In short, the channel has
    been a failure at almost every level.

    It was a major reason why skepticism ran high about the Pentagon's
    Special Operations Command's Trans Regional Web Initiative, an attempt
    to create and run regionally-oriented news sites in Russian, Chinese,
    and the major Caucasian languages (Georgian, Armenian, Azeri). As
    EurasiaNet correspondent Deirdre Tynan notes, skepticism runs high
    about the initiative:

    Experts and observers believe the initiative hypothetically has
    merit. But they are questioning whether the Pentagon, its contractors
    and subcontractors have the expertise and deft touch needed to
    make information inroads in areas where there are deep reserves of
    hostility and suspicion toward the use of American military power. Many
    experts believe that existing US government-funded mass media outlets,
    specifically Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
    (RFERL), have the capabilities and experience needed to achieve the
    desired objectives.

    "The initiative is not a bad idea in a general sense. But, given
    the epic fail of the Pentagon's previous attempts to do this, I just
    assume it will be clumsy," said Joshua Foust, military analyst and
    blogger. "It's doubtful the Pentagon would allow these news outlets
    [websites] to have editorial freedom and highlight US missteps."

    Not to bela trength of RFE/RL and VOA is that they criticize American
    actions. Even though they are not truly independent journalist
    organizations, that kind of editorial freedom gives them a lot more
    credibility than, say, the Pentagon Channel.

    SOCOM's ownership of these websites does not bode well--even if they
    wind to be capable news organizations, the fact that their funding
    comes from the fracking special forces means they'll never attain
    the kind of reputation and independence they'd need to fulfill their
    stated purpose. Hell, VOA and RFE/RL still are viewed with tremendous
    skepticism, especially inside Russia, and they've been at this for
    literally decades. It's tough to know if they're effective, and they
    have much more freedom to operate. How does SOCOM expect TRWI to be
    effective? We don't really know. Don't hold your breath.
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