BREAKING: Pentagon Suspends TV Generals Propaganda Program

This is great news.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon has suspended a program that fed information about the Iraq war to retired military officers who appeared on U.S. television networks as independent analysts, the Defense Department said on Monday.

The program, uncovered last week in a New York Times investigation, was criticized by Democrats for providing private briefings, trips and access to classified intelligence to influence analysts' comments about Iraq and portray the situation as positive even as violence rose in the war zone.

Sen. Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, also said some of the analysts appeared to be working for defense contractors, raising a potential conflict of interest.

Make no mistake though, this is simply step 1.  This sort of Propaganda and media manipulation should be outlawed with legislation limiting the Pentagon's ability to further influence US Public Opinion.

We've had one PR Generated War and it'll hurt America for decades to come.  We should take steps to prevent this from ever happening again.

This said, it's only a suspension as the Pentagon will review whether or not this breaks laws or rules.  It's not permanently gone, and if Sen McCain becomes President McCain, expect to see it back in some way shape or form.

I'd like to see the Dem Nominees push McCain on a stance on this issue. So far the NY Times piece was virtually ignored by the media, but at least the Pentagon got the memo and is evaluating the situation.  If we can elect a Democratic president, maybe the practice can become outlawed.