Secret Program May Have Erred, Pentagon Says
Officials say they'll look into any violations in placement of pro-U.S. articles in Iraqi papers.
By Mark Mazzetti
Times Staff Writer
December 3, 2005

WASHINGTON — A top Pentagon official said Friday that "transgressions" may have occurred in a secret military program that pays Iraqi newspapers to publish information favorable to the U.S. mission, and American military commanders in Baghdad said that any "improprieties" by defense contractors would be investigated.

Meanwhile, Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was told by Pentagon officials that articles and advertisements placed in Iraqi news outlets by a defense contractor are supposed to be identified as U.S. government products, but that in some cases omissions may have occurred.

Although the public statements seemed to question the activities of Washington-based contractor Lincoln Group, officials did not say exactly where the possible transgressions or improprieties might have occurred. Documents obtained by The Times and interviews indicate that in practice, the "information operations" campaign carried out by the military and Lincoln Group has masked connections to the U.S. government.

"These are attempts at influence without any identification of source. The whole point is to make it appear like Iraqis are forming these opinions on their own," said one senior military official who was deployed in Iraq this year and has knowledge of the information operations campaign. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is critical of the program and is not authorized to speak publicly about it.