Tazeen Hasan discusses latest investigation report by Bureau of Investigative Journalism about the fake terrorist videos produced by Pentagon in Iraq from 2006 to 2011.
While Indian and Pakistani political debate is pivoted around the nasty surgical strike, present day warfare technology includes all sorts of activities, including propaganda videos and false flag operations. Psychological warfare is crucial these days to maintain the attacker's image as peace-loving and the attacked nation as terrorists and savages. After all, why would American public pay billions of taxes to bomb Iraqis and Afghanis, if they are not convinced of real threats from these savages? The war-mongering powers heavily fund think tanks to plan these psychological warfare decades before the first bomb is dropped on the enemy land and execute these psychological operations through PR firms. But rarely do these details come out on how these operations are carried out. And if they get leaked, they are ignored considering Conspiracy theories.
Now one of the most reputed investigative news agency in the UK, Bureau of Investigative Journalism, has revealed that Pentagon has paid $660 million to a UK PR firm to make fake terrorist videos in Iraq. These videos were made from 2006 to 2011 to portray Al-Qaeda in a negative light and mocked as Arab TV transmissions.
According to the former employee, Martin Wells, the PR firm Bell Pottinger’s products included short TV segments made in the style of Arabic news networks and fake insurgent videos which could be used to track the people who watched them.
Wells was hired in London as a video Editor without being told his joining place but within 48 hours, he found himself working on this highly covert propaganda project called as “psychological operations”in Baghdad. The firm created television ads showing Al-Qaeda in a negative light as well as creating content to look as though it had come from “Arabic TV.
Employees were given specific instructions to create the videos. “We need to make this style of video and we’ve got to use Al-Qaeda's footage,” Wells was told. “We need it to be 10 minutes long, and it needs to be in this file format, and we need to encode it in this manner.”Crews were sent out to film bombings with low-quality video. The firm would then edit it to make it look like news footage. They would also craft scripts for Arabic soap operas where characters would reject terrorism with happy consequences. The firm also created fake Al-Qaeda propaganda videos, which were then planted by the military in homes they raided.
According to documented proofs, the firm reported to the CIA, the National Security Council and the Pentagon. Both the White House and General David Petraeus, the former general, signed off on the content produced by the agency. Documents show the Pentagon paid $660 million to Bell Pottinger in contracts between 2006 and 2011.
Interestingly, the Pentagon acknowledged that the PR firm did work for them under the Information Operations Task Force (IOTF) creating content they say was “truthful.” The firm also worked under the Joint Psychological Operations Task Force (JPOTF). The Pentagon said it could not comment on JPOTF operations.
Mediabites Editorial: Tazeen Hasan
Published on Octobar 08, 2016
While Indian and Pakistani political debate is pivoted around the nasty surgical strike, present day warfare technology includes all sorts of activities, including propaganda videos and false flag operations. Psychological warfare is crucial these days to maintain the attacker's image as peace-loving and the attacked nation as terrorists and savages. After all, why would American public pay billions of taxes to bomb Iraqis and Afghanis, if they are not convinced of real threats from these savages? The war-mongering powers heavily fund think tanks to plan these psychological warfare decades before the first bomb is dropped on the enemy land and execute these psychological operations through PR firms. But rarely do these details come out on how these operations are carried out. And if they get leaked, they are ignored considering Conspiracy theories.
Now one of the most reputed investigative news agency in the UK, Bureau of Investigative Journalism, has revealed that Pentagon has paid $660 million to a UK PR firm to make fake terrorist videos in Iraq. These videos were made from 2006 to 2011 to portray Al-Qaeda in a negative light and mocked as Arab TV transmissions.
According to the former employee, Martin Wells, the PR firm Bell Pottinger’s products included short TV segments made in the style of Arabic news networks and fake insurgent videos which could be used to track the people who watched them.
Wells was hired in London as a video Editor without being told his joining place but within 48 hours, he found himself working on this highly covert propaganda project called as “psychological operations”in Baghdad. The firm created television ads showing Al-Qaeda in a negative light as well as creating content to look as though it had come from “Arabic TV.
Employees were given specific instructions to create the videos. “We need to make this style of video and we’ve got to use Al-Qaeda's footage,” Wells was told. “We need it to be 10 minutes long, and it needs to be in this file format, and we need to encode it in this manner.”Crews were sent out to film bombings with low-quality video. The firm would then edit it to make it look like news footage. They would also craft scripts for Arabic soap operas where characters would reject terrorism with happy consequences. The firm also created fake Al-Qaeda propaganda videos, which were then planted by the military in homes they raided.
According to documented proofs, the firm reported to the CIA, the National Security Council and the Pentagon. Both the White House and General David Petraeus, the former general, signed off on the content produced by the agency. Documents show the Pentagon paid $660 million to Bell Pottinger in contracts between 2006 and 2011.
Interestingly, the Pentagon acknowledged that the PR firm did work for them under the Information Operations Task Force (IOTF) creating content they say was “truthful.” The firm also worked under the Joint Psychological Operations Task Force (JPOTF). The Pentagon said it could not comment on JPOTF operations.
Mediabites Editorial: Tazeen Hasan
Published on Octobar 08, 2016
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