If this war is another Vietnam fiasco in the end, it will be just as much the fault of the Public Relations arm of the US Military as it is that of the enemy or the Mainstream Media. (Called PAOs for Public Affairs Officers from here on) Posted on 3/27/2007, 12:50:10 AM by Mobile Vulgus
If this war is another Vietnam fiasco in the end, it will be just as much the fault of the Public Relations arm of the US Military as it is that of the enemy or the Mainstream Media. (Called PAOs for Public Affairs Officers from here on)
It is assured that the large preponderance of the MSM is antithetical to the armed forces of the US Military and Army authorities are right to be mindful that most reporters are not out there only to cover the war but are out there with the agenda to embarrass thee military, destroy the president, and alter US policies.
But, just as one must be wary of enemies, one should cultivate allies. And for the US Military to treat all reporters as if they are no better than the enemy, well that is a horrible mistake. And that is what appears to be happening.
Either that, or the PAOs are so utterly incompetent that it is nearly criminal.
Take the case of independent reporter Michael Yon as an example of the failure and incompetence of the PAOs. His case is a perfect example of turning an ostensible journalist ally into a possible enemy. At the very least they are priming him to show nothing but the worst of the administration of the war in Iraq.
Yon is a former member of the US armed forces himself and what made him want to fly to Iraq to become a war correspondent was a “…growing sense that what I was seeing reported on television, as well as in newspapers and magazines, was inconsistent with the reality my friends were describing.”
Here is a reporter who should be given all the access he wants -- short of mission critical info, of course. A man who has a heart full of respect and camaraderie for his fellow soldiers and who has a natural sympathy with them could lend the Military an outlet that they could be sure wouldn’t be pushing an anti-American agenda like that of most of the MSM.
Yon is so fiercely independent and true to his principles that he refuses to even take advertising and will not sign up with any of the MSM’s outlets despite lucrative offers to do so. He is even reluctant to sell his photos to raise the considerable cash he needs to fund his work in Iraq. He exists almost wholly on donations to his cause by appreciative readers.
But, Yon seems to be facing increasing reluctance by the Military to give him a fair shake and too often it even seems as if they are purposefully trying to roadblock his efforts to get a story.
As can be seen on Yon’s segment he calls a RUBS, which stands for a report made quickly and on the move that is “Raw, Unedited, Barely Spell-checked” -- different from his more formal work -- Yon gives us just a small taste of the obstruction the Military is putting in his way.
Last week Yon was “evicted from a trailer” he was staying in “due to lack of space.” He laments the total lack of facilities for journalists, as well. “Billions of dollars are spent on the war each month”, he says, “… yet there are no designated places for journalists? While so many soldiers and their families shout for coverage from Afghanistan (remember that place?) and Iraq, I can sometimes be found from midnight to sunrise sitting outside, trying to transmit photos through a wireless network that only works sometimes.”
Yon finds that independent reporters really have an almost impossible task before them. “Trying to get living quarters and good communications is truly a waste of time.” Yon reports. “Only the richest or most determined news agencies dare come here for more than a brief stay. Most of the journalists seem to start cracking pretty quick anyway.”
That might all sound like the normal gripes about a tough job. And, granted it isn’t the Army’s job to set up posh apartments for journalists. But, Yon recounts further resistance, some that isn’t warranted, among the very PAOs who should be helping writers like him.
“Generally it’s a huge waste of time and money to come here, and the hassle and risk to reward ratio is very bad. I’ve spent more than a year embedded in Iraq, and numerous times public affairs people have made snide remarks that journalists should be happy they get to eat ‘their chow’ for free. Of course, they don’t mention that ’their chow’ belongs to American taxpayers, the same taxpayers they hurt when they squelch journalism from the war. Whether they do it directly, intentionally indirectly, or just by plain bungling the simplest stuff, like making sure writers have a surface to write on, whatever the case, I haven’t met anyone yet who knows how to write or hold a camera who comes to Iraq for free food. It’s really not fun here, next to impossible to do the job, and the food is nothing special. After all, we’re not talking about covering the French army.”
As I have written before, there is often a clash of missions between the Military and the Media, so a certain amount of antagonism could be unavoidable. But, one thing that is death to a cause is to antagonize the press and, as Yon recounts, that is what seems to be happening to many reporters in Iraq.
“Most people can enter the dining facility without a problem, but at the dining facility near my tent, I get searched every time because I have a press ID. That’s a nice touch–wand the press before they eat. But I know first hand that it can get even more heavy-handed. One time, in 2005, after I wrote something they didn’t like (Proximity Delays), I needed a guard to eat.”
Yon ends his RUBS report with this: “Fact is, as soon as the public affairs people will start being part of the solution and not part of the problem, I can start writing about the successes and the soldiers like Q who are out in Baghdad even now, trying to make this work.”
Let’s face it, the image this war has could be vastly improved if the US Military would think past the end of its nose enough to become an ally to writers like Yon. And the PAOs failure to cultivate Yon’s and the few writers out there like him good will is a shortsighted move.
We NEED writers like Yon out there. Independent writers that don’t have an axe to grind, don’t have stateside editors desirous of pushing a political agenda with their war correspondent’s work, and writers who would give the soldiers and cause a fair shake. Writers like Yon are what we need.
I urge the US Military to realize that this war is being lost back home in the states because CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, the New York Times and the rest of the anti-war press is being allowed an open field to misreport what is going on in Iraq without a single counter move by our Military administrators.
We NEED the story of what our boys are doing over there to get out. We need the truth to be presented.
So, I, for one, hope the US Military gets the heck out of the way of writers like Yon. He could help get the word out about the great things that are happening in our efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Stories that the MSM kill every day could be the difference between support of this effort by the American public and their turning away from this important work.
Whether the US Military likes it or not, they need writers like Yon to get the truth to the American people because it is the voters who have the power to see this war through. Without a favorable and truthful voice coming from the war zones the US electorate may find itself wanting to cut and run in frustration if all they ever see is the bad things that are happening there. And, if the Army wants to win the peace in Iraq they’d better begin to realize that they must win the PR war here at home.
I’ve heard several US Generals complaining on TV that the true story about what is going on in Iraq just isn’t getting out. This is undoubtedly correct. With naught but the agenda driven MSM out there bringing us in theater reports who could doubt those generals? But, perhaps they should look a little closer to home than the offices of the New York Times for the reason why.
Most reporters are in the Green Zone lamenting how Israel continues to exist and "Angry white males" are killing Muslims.
"But, just as one must be wary of enemies, one should cultivate allies. And for the US Military to treat all reporters as if they are no better than the enemy, well that is a horrible mistake. And that is what appears to be happening."
The media is the enemy and I am happy to see them treated that way.
BTTT!
Michael Yon is not the enemy -- he's one of the best friends the military has.
Our enemy understands our culture and our media and our attention span better than our military Public Affairs and Psychological Operations people do. PA gets most of the bad rap for us losing the infowar, but counter propaganda has never been a PA mission. Counter propaganda is a legitimate task for Psychological Operations, unfortunately strategic counter-propaganda to mitigate the effects of the enemy's propaganda on the American domestic target audience is beyond the capabilities of regular US Government military or intelligence psychological operators, because they are prohibited by law from targeting the domestic audience. We are the only country in the world that has voluntarily hamstrung itself in that way. Some people might think changing the law to enable our operators to fight back would solve that problem, but the political facts on the ground are that the current majority party in Congress is never going to repeal the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948, so either we just grab our ankles and take the steady stream of unchallenged enemy propaganda, or We The People exercise our rights under the First Amendment to refute it, condition our fellow citizens to resist it, minimize its effects and mitigate the damage it does to our morale and will.
Guys like Yon, Bill Roggio, and Michael Fumento provide the material with which to directly refute much of the enemy propaganda disguised as news. So do milbloggers. Forums like Free Republic can disseminate the truth to ever-widening audiences. Maybe the best we can expect from the military in strategic counter-propaganda is just to stay out of the way.
By 1615, Japan, which had produced some very capable guns by that point, was disarmed. Social and political pressured was not only strong enough to do so, but the system remained viable for 250 years. Japan, in and among itself, did not need or want guns on its' battlefields. So they got rid of them, and looked on those that used them as barbarians. Pride and honor are powerful forces, and can turn back the clock with enough cultural support. Even in the face of military revolutions.
The same has happened to America. The rest of the world, desperate for victory, has embraced the lowly PR weapon. The tool of commoners. Al-Qa'ida's top 3 cells in any structure or location contain one called the "media cell", and it's as indispensable as their "military cell". Our contempt for this weapon does not rob it of it's effectiveness, nor will our pride in pure technique and battlefield skill bring us any more victories.
The techniques you mention sound like swordsmen discussing tactics of defeating firearms, should the need arise. Well meaning and noble, but increasingly futile. Media arquebuses are giving way to media muskets. Soon they'll be media rifles, and media machine guns. If we abandon this field without a fight, we'll find ourselves increasingly helpless and unable to act. Private citizens running blogs alone will never reach more than a niche crowd, while our enemies run combined arms media campaigns. If our government and society can't accept what it takes to be competitive in IO, then we're pretty much doomed to accept what IO is forced on us by those that use it.
We can remain true to the sword, like the Japanese did, for a while. The sword ruled for centuries after it's obsolescence there, and it may rule here equally well. But our foreign adventures will be increasingly unsuccessful, and eventually impossible.
Dan Rather no longer works at CBS. More than a "niche crowd" were reached in making that happen.
Never say never.
We have to try. Convincing ourselves that the effort is futile and all is lost guarantees defeat.
Based on how lengthy a stay you spent in the Green Zone. That was not my experience based on an admittedly short three-week stay there.
More like cavalrymen debating the merits of a curved or straight-bladed saber as they prepare to charge at a gallop into the machinegun positions.
It's too soon to tell. Yon has not been at it all that long, and to date he's failed to produce anything more profound than that which I've heard from a couple of experienced Special Forces NCOs...which was who Mike Yon's first teachers were.
If he's ever going to rise to the level of a Charley Black or a Keyes Beech, he's going to have to attend and cover a war that's of far less personal interest to most Americans and make that interesting. If he can do that, he can run with the big dogs.
You may get your wish. The arrangement is not unique to Iraq
I don't mean at all that we are helpless. 10 swordsmen versus 10 musketeers could inflict casualties, and possibly win the engagement. We will have successes, as we modify our tactics. And we do modify them, with a tight ROE, an IO doctrine, PAO coordination, and a number of other counter-media force protection measures.
We will have our successes, but we won't be the horse to bet on. Like I said above, we may even win some engagements, like with Dan Rather. Skill and precision can defeat technology, in some cases. Overall, though, an army of swordsmen versus an army of musketeers is not the favored side. And those muskets are being slowly replaced by rifles. Either we get over our innate distaste of federal IO measures, at least defensive ones, or we'll eventually cede the entire battlefield. We're not there yet, but that day is coming.
So much of this is off the mark in the wildest way.
It is the news media's job to carry the PR war. NOT the government. We do not have a government controlled news organ in our culture. The government is not in the business of broadcasting news.
The news market is. Much of our msm has openly allied with the enemy against and as such are traitors as well as deserters from their portion of the front in the information war.
Until we call the guilty among the msm due on the blood debt they owe, we will continue to lose that front of this war and nothing else will remedy that failure.
During Desert Shield/Storm/Sabre I had an arrangement with a Turkish tank brigade commander whose unit was tasked with entering Baghdad from the north, who offered me a ride in one of his tanks, though coalition regulations required journalists to be acvcompanied by a military press officer at all times. *Okay* says he, *I am my own press officer, try to keep up with me.*
It would have been an interesting ride, I think, but Bush I chose to conclude the festivities after the first hundred hours without the final entry to Baghdad.
At least one pretty fair journalist of that war was irked by press restrictions that pretty much limited them to covering the *4 o'clock follies* press briefing, set at that time to disassociate the press briefings from those of the Vietnam War. At the time, there was also a restriction on reporting the name or hometown of officers below the rank of captain or any enlistyed men. Accordingly, he began preparing a piece on one US battalion commander slugged with the headline US TROOPS CALL THEIR LEADER NOBALLS. The following day he was out in the field where he'd wanted to be, and figured his suspicions that his working notes were being read behind his back were confirmed.
How does anybody go about getting the domestic target audience over their "innate distaste" of counter propaganda and other federal IO measures?
He's a snakeeater. Non-special forces and non-airborne *military management* leaders really despise him, as do the politically connec ted who see their CFR memberships and war college ticket punching as the real measure of military success, not how well we do or don't in SW Asia.
Yon is a good friend to enlisted men and company-grade officers. But he has the capability of killing the careers of officers in the grades of 0-4 and above, as much as any writer since the late Dave Hackworth. And they fear that which they cannot control.
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