Thursday, February 16, 2006

The Pentagon’s war on the Internet

''WHY, FOR EXAMPLE, WOULD THE PENTAGON SEE THE INTERNET AS A GREATER THREAT THAN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA, WHERE AN ESTIMATED 75 PERCENT OF AMERICANS GET THEIR NEWS?''

By Mike Whitney

Online Journal Contributing Writer

Feb 15, 2006 - The Pentagon has developed a comprehensive strategy for taking over the Internet and controlling the free flow of information. The plan appears in a recently declassified document, “The Information Operations Roadmap,”* which was provided under the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) and revealed in an article by the BBC.

The Pentagon sees the Internet in terms of a military adversary that poses a vital threat to its stated mission of global domination. This explains the confrontational language in the document which speaks of “fighting the net”; implying that the Internet is the equivalent of “an enemy weapons system."

The Defense Dept. places a high value on controlling information. The new program illustrates their determination to establish the parameters of free speech.

The Pentagon sees information as essential in manipulating public perceptions and, thus, a crucial tool in eliciting support for unpopular policies. The recent revelations of the military placing propaganda in the foreign press demonstrate the importance that is given to co-opting public opinion.

Information-warfare is used to create an impenetrable cloud around the activities of government so that decisions can be made without dissent. The smokescreen of deception that encompasses the Bush administration has less to do with prevaricating politicians than it does with a clearly articulated policy of obfuscation. “The Information Operations Roadmap” is solely intended to undermine the principle of an informed citizenry.

The Pentagon’s focus on the Internet tells us a great deal about the mainstream media (MSM) and its connection to the political establishment.

WHY, FOR EXAMPLE, WOULD THE PENTAGON SEE THE INTERNET AS A GREATER THREAT THAN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA, WHERE AN ESTIMATED 75 PERCENT OF AMERICANS GET THEIR NEWS?

The reason is clear; because the MSM is already a fully-integrated part of the corporate-system providing a 24-hour per day streaming of business-friendly news. Today’s MSM operates as a de facto franchise of the Pentagon, a reliable and sophisticated propagandist for Washington’s wars of aggression and political subterfuge.

The Internet, on the other hand, is the last bastion of American democracy; a virtual world where reliable information moves instantly from person to person without passing through the corporate filter. Online visitors can get a clear picture of their governments’ depredations with a click of the mouse. This is the liberalization of the news, an open source of mind-expanding information that elevates citizen awareness of complex issues and threatens the status quo.

The Pentagon program is just one facet of a broader culture of deception; a pervasive ethos of dishonesty that envelopes all aspects of the Bush White House. The “Strategic Intelligence” Dept is a division of the Defense establishment that is entirely devoted to concealing, distorting, omitting and manipulating the truth.

In what way is “strategic intelligence” different from plain intelligence?

IT IS INFORMATION THAT IS SHAPED IN A WAY THAT MEETS THE NEEDS OF A PARTICULAR GROUP. IN OTHER WORDS, IT IS NOT THE TRUTH AT ALL, BUT A FABRICATION, A FICTION, A LIE.

Strategic intelligence is an oxymoron; a tidy bit of Orwellian doublespeak that reflects the deeply rooted cynicism of its authors.

The Internet is a logical target for the Pentagon’s electronic warfare. Already the Downing Street memos, Bush’s bombing-threats against Al Jazeera, the fraudulent 2004 elections, and the leveling of Falluja, have disrupted the smooth execution of Bush’s wars. It is understandable that Rumsfeld & Co. would seek to transform this potential enemy into an ally, much as it has done with the MSM.

The Pentagon’s plans for engaging in “virtual warfare” are impressive.

As the BBC notes: “The operations described in the document include a surprising range of military activities: public affairs officers who brief journalists, psychological operations troops who try to manipulate the thoughts and beliefs of an enemy, computer network attack specialists who seek to destroy enemy networks.”*

The enemy, of course, is you, dear reader, or anyone who refuses to accept their role as a witless cog in the New World Order. Seizing the Internet is a prudent way of controlling every piece of information that one experiences from cradle to grave; all necessary for an orderly police state.

The Information Operations Roadmap (IOR) recommends that psychological operations (Psyops) “should consider a range of technologies to disseminate propaganda in enemy territory: unmanned aerial vehicles, 'miniaturized, scatterable public address systems,' wireless devices, cellular phones and the Internet.” No idea is too costly or too far-fetched that it escapes the serious consideration of the Pentagon chieftains.

The War Dept. is planning to insert itself into every area of the Internet from blogs to chat rooms, from leftist web sites to editorial commentary. The objective is to challenge any tidbit of information that appears on the web that may counter the official narrative; the fairytale of benign American intervention to promote democracy and human rights across the planet.

The IOR aspires to "provide maximum control of the entire electromagnetic spectrum" and develop the capability to "disrupt or destroy the full spectrum of globally emerging communications systems, sensors, and weapons systems dependent on the electromagnetic spectrum". (BBC)

Full Spectrum Dominance.

The ultimate goal of the Pentagon is to create an Internet paradigm that corresponds to the corporate mainstream model, devoid of imagination or divergent points of view. They envision an Internet that is increasingly restricted by the gluttonous influence of industry and its vast “tapestry of lies.”

The Internet is the modern day marketplace of ideas, an invaluable resource for human curiosity and organized resistance. It provides a direct link between the explosive power of ideas and engaged citizen involvement. (a.k.a. participatory democracy)

The Pentagon is laying the groundwork for privatizing the Internet so the information revolution can be transformed into an information tyranny, extending to all areas of communications and serving the exclusive interests of a few well-heeled American plutocrats.

(Note: The Associated Press reported on Feb. 13, “The government concluded its 'Cyber Storm' war game Friday, its biggest-ever exercise to test how it would respond to devastating attacks over the Internet from anti-globalization activists, underground hackers and bloggers.

Bloggers?

Participants confirmed parts of the worldwide simulation challenged government officials and industry executives to respond to deliberate misinformation campaigns and activist calls by Internet bloggers, online diarists whose "web logs" include political rantings and musings about current events.”

“Misinformation campaigns?” “Political rantings?” “Musings about current events?”

The administration’s resolve to foreclose on free speech has never been stronger and continues apace.

Mike Whitney

Mike Whitney lives in Washington state. He can be reached at: fergiewhitney@msn.com.

[andend] - Copyright © 1998-2006 Online Journal - Story at Url.: http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_510.shtml

Related:

Story from BBC NEWS - US plans to 'fight the net' revealed - Url.:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4655196.stm

Google search 10.00 hrs GMT: "Web Results 1 - 10 of about 45,600 for "Information Operations Roadmap"." - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/eydy2

Google search 10.00 hrs GMT: "Web Results 1 - 10 of about 13,400 for Ruyssenaars +Internet. - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/dh2al

Mike Whitney / FPF-blog - ''Frog-marching the Media to the Gallows?'' - http://tinyurl.com/co2px

* "Sarah, if the American people had ever known the truth about what we Bushes have done to this nation, we would be chased down in the streets and lynched." - George Bush Senior speaking in an interview with Sarah McClendon in December 1992. - And here's why: 'George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography' - by Webster G. Tarpley & Anton Chaitkin - Chapter - II - The Hitler Project - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/57qxk

* TODAY: What happened on 9/11? - We have been lied to! The PNAC racket killed the people. - What is happening to our world? - February 16-17, 2006 - Two workshops on 9/11 with professor Steven Jones (BYU) - at Arizona State University - More information on 9/11 at Url.: http://www.scholarsfor911truth.org/

* The Top Ten American War Criminals Living Freely Today - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/dvudx

* What Bush c.s. - the PNAC criminals - [http://tinyurl.com/bdpmw] - the bankrolling dynasty and their collaborators - are afraid of - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/95nk2

* Entertainer Harry Belafonte, one of the Bush neocon administration’s harshest critics, compared the US Homeland Security Department to the Nazi Gestapo - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/8uvoe

* Those who first of all start shouting about 'conspiracy theory' and 'paranoïa' or similar, are always the evil INFORMANTS The paid INFILTRATORS which are afraid of being disclosed. They are the real Judas's working for treacherous 'masters' - they are the 'Quislings' that will go to jail - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/clcjn

* On the buckles of the belts Hitler's Nazi-SS wore, it said the same as George Bush is using now: "Gott mit Uns" - 'God is on our side' - SS/CIA - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/9xqcr

* P.M. - Compliant media - Hitler: An Officer and a Gentleman? - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/3eepa

* Douglas Herman, a USAF veteran, served in the Vietnam era. Captain James Herman, the author's father, fought the Nazis during World War II. - Achtung! Are We the New Nazis?" - Soldiers, God and Empire - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/2tdfp

* "People do not forget. They do not forget the death of their fellows, they do not forget torture and mutilation, they do not forget injustice, they do not forget oppression, they do not forget the terrorism of mighty powers. They not only don't forget: they also strike back." - 2005 Nobel Literature Prize winner Harold Pinter - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/9cyeq

* The 9/11 WTC drama was by the PNAC criminals planned terror - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/b7ygk - It was an inside job - Google - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/7tj9d

* Who's financing? - The 'Federal Reserve' and it's usurers is the absolute biggest crime against all humanity ever. - Url.: http://www.apfn.org/apfn/reserve.htm

* 'Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one' — A.J. Liebling - The merciless engine of propaganda has been turned on: The infamous US 'Lie Factory' - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/8ncal

* Independent & FREE press in Kansas - Pls. read the 'Fightin' Cock Flyer' - Url.: http://fightincockflyer.blogspot.com/

* Help all the troops - of whatever nationality - to come back from abroad! - AND WITH ALL THEIR WEAPONS, WHICH WE WERE FORCED TO PAY FOR BY TAXES - [http://www.apfn.org/apfn/reserve.htm ] - We need them badly at home in many countries to fight with us against our so called 'governments' and their malignant managers - Url.: http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/

FPF-COPYRIGHT NOTICE - In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107 - any copyrighted work in this message is distributed by the Foreign Press Foundation under fair use, without profit or payment, to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the information. Url.: http://liimirror.warwick.ac.uk/uscode/17/107.html

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FOREIGN PRESS FOUNDATION
http://forpressfound.blogspot.com/
Editor: Henk Ruyssenaars
http://tinyurl.com/amn3q
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fpf@chello.nl

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