The Pentagon military analyst program was a propaganda campaign of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) that was launched in early 2002 by then-Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Victoria Clarke.[1] The goal of the operation is "to spread the administration's talking points on Iraq by briefing retired commanders for network and cable television appearances," where they have been presented as independent analysts; [2] a Pentagon spokesman said the Pentagon's intent is to keep the American people informed about the so-called War on Terrorism by providing prominent military analysts with factual information and frequent, direct access to key military officials.[3][4] The Times article suggests that the analysts had undisclosed financial conflicts of interest and were given special access as a reward for promoting the administration's point of view. On 28 April 2008, the Pentagon ended the operation.[5] A DoD Inspector General investigation found no wrongdoing on the part of the DoD.
- ^ Barstow, David (2008-04-20). "Message Machine: Behind Analysts, the Pentagon's Hidden Hand". The New York Times.
- ^ Sessions, David (2008-04-20). "Onward T.V. Soldiers: The New York Times exposes a multi-armed Pentagon message machine". Slate.
- ^ "Q & A With David Barstow". The New York Times. 2008-04-21.
- ^ "US military groomed TV military analysts -NY Times". Reuters. 2008-04-19.
- ^ Roberts, Kristin (2008-04-28). "Pentagon suspends retired military analyst program". Reuters.