A Citizen’s Voice

Dangerous lies

By LAURA SASS

Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the distinction between the “good guys” and the “bad guys” has seemed pretty obvious, hasn’t it? Those who deliberately murdered 4,000 people just seem to fit the profile of a “bad guy” a little better than those who were killed.

Yet our government sees the need to spread propaganda about bin Laden and terrorists to foreign countries, both our enemies and our allies. In fact, an entire new office was created to do just that.

The Office of Strategic Influence was created shortly after the terrorist attacks with a clear objective in mind: to influence public sentiment overseas. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but the way the office conducts itself is not good.

According to military officials, this office was formed to provide news, possibly false, to foreign media organizations as part of a new effort to influence public sentiment and policy makers in both friendly and unfriendly countries. These psychological operations go from “the blackest of black programs to the whitest of white.”

But why? What is the point of lying? Is there not enough bad information about the terrorists without the need to make it up? All the proof we need can be found in NYC. The silent testimony of 4,000 dead is pretty impressive. There is no need to make up horrors when the real horror is right in front of you.

The idea of influencing public sentiment is not bad. The psychological way is often much more effective than brutal force and much easier for people to accept.

It accomplishes what war can never completely do, and does it without people dying needlessly. It makes sense to attempt of persuasion, but it must be attempted through truth.

If our own government plans to lie to our allies, only bad things will happen. Why should our allies support a country that feeds them misinformation only to further its own end? Not only that, but the public sentiment that America is so desperate to hold on to would turn against the United States if this was discovered. That cancels out the entire point of the government’s operation.

The Pentagon has firmly stated that these planted lies are only for overseas. We are assured that, as Americans, we will not be lied to. If misinformation is leaked out to foreign countries, however, eventually Americans will hear of it. A report on a foreign media channel can quickly appear in U.S. news as well.

And then what? Will a Pentagon official step up and tell America, “Sorry, that was one of the lies.” In the age of the Internet, the world would know within a few seconds. There is no way to escape it. If the Pentagon lies, it deceives us all.

Americans have a right to know the truth. It is we who provide the soldiers who fight and die for this cause. It is we who need justice. If an American dies, that person and family deserve to understand why. They should not have to fight their way through a web of deceit to figure it out. It is simply wrong.

On Tuesday, Feb. 26, the news broke that the Bush administration had decided to close this office due to the public outcry against its methods. This was only a week after the intentions of the office had been announced.

In a week, the story had attracted enough media and public attention to actually make a difference. The public was against this so strenuously that it was quickly discarded.

This is a pretty uplifting event. So often it seems as if the people do not matter, that our voices are not heard. This is a time when the people won. The office did not simply change its policy; it was completely disbanded. Yet we must still be watchful.

Donald Rumsfeld, our defense secretary, was the person who actually closed the office. The reason he gave, however, is worth knowing. He said the reason the office was closed was because “it has been damaged so much it could not operate effectively.”

According to him, the office was closed, not because it was wrong, but because it could no longer do its job with a tarnished reputation. He also said that the Pentagon will continue to get its message overseas, just not through this office.

These statements warrant further watchfulness. Americans must stay on top of this and make sure the government does not come up with the same exact plan under a different name.

It is almost ironic that our government was so concerned about foreign sentiment that it forgot to notice the American sentiment at home. This is what, in the end, ruined its plans. The power of the American people has been proven this week; let us not be afraid to use this weapon again.