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The Pentagon’s War on the Internet
By Mike Whitney
02/13/06 "ICH' -- -- The Pentagon has developed a comprehensive
strategy for taking over the internet and controlling the free
flow of information. The plan appears in a recently declassified
document, “The Information Operations Roadmap”, which was
provided under the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) and
revealed in an article by the BBC.
The Pentagon sees the internet in terms of a military adversary
that poses a vital threat to its stated mission of global
domination. This explains the confrontational language in the
document which speaks of “fighting the net”; implying that the
internet is the equivalent of “an enemy weapons system."
The Defense Dept. places a high-value on controlling
information. The new program illustrates their determination to
establish the parameters of free speech.
The Pentagon sees information as essential in manipulating
public perceptions and, thus, a crucial tool in eliciting
support for unpopular policies. The recent revelations of the
military placing propaganda in the foreign press demonstrate the
importance that is given to co-opting public opinion.
Information-warfare is used to create an impenetrable cloud
around the activities of government so that decisions can be
made without dissent. The smokescreen of deception that
encompasses the Bush administration has less to do with
prevaricating politicians than it does with a clearly
articulated policy of obfuscation. “The Information Operations
Roadmap” is solely intended to undermine the principle of an
informed citizenry.
The Pentagon’s focus on the internet tells us a great deal about
the mainstream media and its connection to the political
establishment.
Why, for example, would the Pentagon see the internet as a
greater threat than the mainstream media, where an estimated 75%
of Americans get their news?
The reason is clear; because the MSM is already a
fully-integrated part of the corporate-system providing a 24
hour per day streaming of business-friendly news. Today’s MSM
operates as a de-facto franchise of the Pentagon, a reliable and
sophisticated propagandist for Washington’s wars of aggression
and political subterfuge.
The internet, on the other hand, is the last bastion of American
democracy; a virtual world where reliable information moves
instantly from person to person without passing through the
corporate filter. Online visitors can get a clear picture of
their governments’ depredations with a click of the mouse. This
is the liberalization of the news, an open source of
mind-expanding information that elevates citizen awareness of
complex issues and threatens the status quo.
The Pentagon program is just one facet of a broader culture of
deception; a pervasive ethos of dishonesty that envelopes all
aspects of the Bush White House. The “Strategic Intelligence”
Dept is a division of the Defense establishment that is entirely
devoted to concealing, distorting, omitting and manipulating the
truth.
In what way is “strategic intelligence” different from plain
intelligence?
It is information that is shaped in a way that meets the needs
of a particular group. In other words, it is not the truth at
all, but a fabrication, a fiction, a lie.
Strategic intelligence is an oxymoron; a tidy bit of Orwellian
doublespeak that reflects the deeply rooted cynicism of its
authors.
The internet is a logical target for the Pentagon’s electronic
warfare. Already the Downing Street memos, Bush’s
bombing-threats against Al Jazeera, the fraudulent 2004
elections, and the leveling of Falluja, have disrupted the
smooth execution of Bush’s wars. It is understandable that
Rumsfeld and Co. would seek to transform this potential enemy
into an ally, much as it has done with the MSM.
The Pentagon’s plans for engaging in “virtual warfare” are
impressive. As BBC notes: “The operations described in the
document include a surprising range of military activities:
public affairs officers who brief journalists, psychological
operations troops who try to manipulate the thoughts and beliefs
of an enemy, computer network attack specialists who seek to
destroy enemy networks.” (BBC)
The enemy, of course, is you, dear reader, or anyone who refuses
to accept their role as a witless-cog in new world order.
Seizing the internet is a prudent way of controlling every piece
of information that one experiences from cradle to grave; all
necessary for an orderly police-state.
The Information Operations Roadmap (IOR) recommends that
psychological operations (Psyops) “should consider a range of
technologies to disseminate propaganda in enemy territory:
unmanned aerial vehicles, "miniaturized, scatterable public
address systems", wireless devices, cellular phones and the
internet.” No idea is too costly or too far-fetched that it
escapes the serious consideration of the Pentagon chieftains.
The War Dept. is planning to insert itself into every area of
the internet from blogs to chat rooms, from leftist web sites to
editorial commentary. The objective is to challenge any tidbit
of information that appears on the web that may counter the
official narrative; the fairytale of benign American
intervention to promote democracy and human rights across the
planet.
The IOR aspires to "provide maximum control of the entire
electromagnetic spectrum" and develop the capability to "disrupt
or destroy the full spectrum of globally emerging communications
systems, sensors, and weapons systems dependent on the
electromagnetic spectrum". (BBC)
Full spectrum dominance.
The ultimate goal of the Pentagon is to create an
internet-paradigm that corresponds to the corporate mainstream
model, devoid of imagination or divergent points of view. They
envision an internet that is increasingly restricted by the
gluttonous influence of industry and its vast “tapestry of
lies”.
The internet is the modern-day marketplace of ideas, an
invaluable resource for human curiosity and organized
resistance. It provides a direct link between the explosive
power of ideas and engaged citizen involvement. (aka;
participatory democracy)
The Pentagon is laying the groundwork for privatizing the
internet so the information-revolution can be transformed into
an information-tyranny, extending to all areas of communications
and serving the exclusive interests of a few well-heeled
American plutocrats.
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