WHAT!? U.S. PROPAGANDA, IN IRAQ?!

The link to an article about the above is http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10272171/ . It's kind of interesting... here are some excerpts:

“A free and independent press is critical to the functioning of a democracy, and I am concerned about any actions which may erode the independence of the Iraqi media,” said the committee chairman, Sen. John Warner, R-Va.

Military officials in Iraq say the program is necessary.

“The purpose of this program is to ensure factual information is provided to the Iraqi public,” Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a U.S. military spokesman, said in Iraq.

The program came to light just as President Bush released his strategy for victory in Iraq. It includes the need to support a “free, independent and responsible Iraqi media.”

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., characterized the program as a scheme that “speaks volumes about the president’s credibility gap. If Americans were truly welcomed in Iraq as liberators, we wouldn’t have to doctor the news for the Iraqi people.”

Snave: On this point, I have to agree with Teddy.

I guess that if one of the Bush administration's goals is winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, it would be fitting that the Bush administration wouldn't necessarily feel that sticking to the truth would be of paramount importance. They might also not really care whether or not Iraq has a free media. If paying pundits to support the administration has worked here, why shouldn't it work in Iraq?