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Fifth Column
About that Rolling Stone article: Gen. Caldwell's Accuser Had No Psy-Ops Training
2011-02-26
It's the Wall Street Journal, so you may have to register, but the article is not behind the subscription wall. Interesting discussion thread attached.
An Army officer who accused a top general in Afghanistan of using "psychological operations" against visiting lawmakers in an article in Rolling Stone magazine was not trained in the military specialty, Defense Department officials said. The U.S. Army's Special Operations Command announced Friday that their special warfare center has no record of training Lt. Col. Michael Holmes in "psychological operations."

In an interview, Lt. Col. Holmes said he received training in information operations and how to use the psychological operation techniques but never claimed to have been trained as a psy-ops officer.

Psychological operations involve trying to influence foreign audiences. Unlike personnel trained in public affairs who are required to be truthful at all times, psy-ops and information operations officers are allowed to use deception.
The Washington Times adds in an editorial:
Rolling Stone's war on our troops
Brainwashing charge from reprimanded officers with axe to grind

"Rolling Stone magazine is engaging in a psychological operation trying to brainwash the American public," says an expert in military information operations. The magazine's Feb. 23 article, "Another runaway general: Army deploys psy-ops on U.S. senators," by Michael Hastings, is a confused attempt to create an issue where no issue exists, and a potentially libelous smear on the record of a senior military officer.

Mr. Hastings asserts that Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, the commander of NATO Training Mission Afghanistan (NTM-A) illegally employed " 'psychological operations' to manipulate visiting American senators into providing more troops and funding for the war." From the tone of the article, an unsuspecting reader could conclude that the U.S. military has secret teams of warriors employing Jedi mind tricks, or active units of "men who stare at goats." Senior military leaders are portrayed as being out to use government resources and martial techniques to dupe U.S. lawmakers.

The breathless introduction of the piece is disingenuous, asserting starkly that illegal acts took place when nothing of the kind has been charged, let alone proven.

Mr. Hastings primary source is Lt. Col. Michael Holmes, the head of the information operations (IO) unit who is portrayed in the cliched role of the selfless whistleblower bucking the system. But according to information obtained by The Washington Times, Lt. Col. Holmes is better characterized as a disgruntled soldier who had been caught engaging in alleged improprieties and is using the liberal anti-war press to strike back.
The editorial goes on to a second page , containing the kind of reportage we ought to get from so-called straight journalists. But it's appropriate that it was published as an editorial, given how very clearly the editors despise the Rolling Stone approach.
Posted by:

#1  getting info on the visiting congresscritters would seem to me to be a prudent move, if only to avoid a faux pas. Lt Col. Michael Holmes is toast, and an idiot for speaking out of school (and his MOS, apparently). Expect him to be the next big thang on the Lib talking points, following the Koch Bros. and WI Hitler...errrr Governor
Posted by: Frank G   2011-02-26 16:41  

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