The man who sold the Iraq War

The Man Who Sold the Iraq War:
John Rendon, Bush's General in the Propaganda War (Video)
By Amy GoodmanSource: Democracy Now
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"Investigative journalist James Bamford examines how the Bush administration and Iraqi National Congress used the PR firm Rendon Group to feed journalists - including Judith Miller -- fabricated stories in an effort to sell the war. The firm has received millions in government contracts since 1991 when it was by the CIA to help 'create the conditions for the removal of Hussein from power.' Iraq wasn't the first regime change case for Rendon. In 1989 the CIA turned to Rendon to use a variety of campaign and psychological techniques in Panama to put the CIA's choice, Guillermo Endara, into the presidential palace to replace Gen. Manuel Noriega. [includes rush transcript]

"Earlier this month, Democrats forced the Senate into an unusual closed session to question pre-war intelligence and claims of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The move came one week after the indictment of Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff Lewis 'Scooter' Libby for his involvement in the CIA leak case in which the identity of an undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame was exposed after her husband Joseph Wilson criticized the Bush administration's use of a debunked piece of evidence for WMDs in Iraq.
So how did the Bush administration sell the war to the American public? Well a new article in Rolling Stone magazine examines just that. In it, investigative journalist James Bamford looks at the role of one of the most powerful public relations firms in Washington D.C in setting the stage for the Iraq war.

"The firm is the Rendon Group and it's founder and CEO is John Rendon - the former Executive Director of the Democratic National Committee.

"Bamford writes that the Pentagon secretly awarded Rendon a $16 million contract to target Iraq and other adversaries with propaganda. One of the most powerful people in Washington, Rendon is a leader in the strategic field known as 'perception management,' manipulating information -- and, by extension, the news media -- to achieve the desired result. His firm has made millions off government contracts since 1991, when it was hired by the CIA to help 'create the conditions for the removal of Hussein from power.'

"James Bamford, investigative reporter and author of the new article 'The Man Who Sold The War' published in the December 1st issue of Rolling Stone Magazine. Bamford is also the author of several books including 'A Pretext for War: 9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of America's Intelligence Agencies.'"
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Tagged: media, pr, public+relations, iraq, war, disinfo, disinformation, bush