Deceiving the public

Tuesday, May 6, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.

Democrats in the House are calling for the Pentagon’s inspector general to investigate the Bush administration’s use of retired military officers to support its Iraq war policies.

In a letter sent last week, 41 members of the House asked Inspector General Claude Kicklighter to determine the extent of the deceitful public relations program and whether it was legal.

The New York Times first reported on the program last month, detailing how since 2002 Pentagon officials wooed retired officers working as military analysts for major news outlets. The “analysts” were showered with special treatment, including exclusive access to the Pentagon and regular briefings by then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. They were also given Pentagon-sponsored trips to Iraq and the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The Times reported that Pentagon officials saw the retired officers as “surrogates” and “message force multipliers” who could deliver the administration’s “themes and messages.” The newspaper reported on a symbiotic relationship between the Pentagon and the retired officers, several of whom saw the access as a chance to network for business opportunities. Many of the analysts already worked for or had ties to Pentagon contractors.

Pentagon officials surely knew this when they targeted the retired officers as part of their propaganda program.

Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told the Times last month that although there is nothing wrong with providing information to the media, “there is a problem if the Pentagon is providing special access to retired officers and then basically using them as pawns to spout the administration’s talking points of the day.”

The Bush administration once again went beyond the bounds of decency by attempting to buy favorable coverage — and public perception — of its failed policies in the Iraq war.

The inspector general, and Congress, should aggressively press forward with an investigation to determine the cost and extent of the program and whether anything illegal was done.