Rumsfeld, who was fired or let go or whatever you want to call it as head of the Dept of US Defense in 2006, has re-emerged.
Rummie Calls for US Propaganda Agency
In Rummie’s own words:
Private media does not get up in the morning and say what can we do to promote the values and ideas that the free Western nations believe in? It gets up in the morning and says they’re going to try to make money by selling whatever they sell… The way they decided to do that is to be dramatic and if it bleeds it leads is the common statement in the media today. They’ve got their job, and they have to do that, and that’s what they do.
We need someone in the United States government, some entity, not like the old USIA . . . I think this agency, a new agency has to be something that would take advantage of the wonderful opportunities that exist today. There are multiple channels for information . . . The Internet is there, blogs are there, talk radio is there, e-mails are there. There are all kinds of opportunities. We do not with any systematic organized way attempt to engage the battle of ideas and talk about the idea of beheading, and what it’s about and what it means. And talk about the fact that people are killing more Muslims than they are non-Muslims, these extremists. They’re doing it with suicide bombs and the like. We need to engage and not simply be passive and allow that battle of competition of ideas.
So … where would this information war take place? Hmmm … what would I accept to sell out my views and start posting pro-Harpie comments? Maybe a vineyard in France and a cottage in Muskoka? Hmmm … not enough.
Of course, many people out there will get very active supporting Rummie’s goals, above and beyond those who aren’t already selling themselves out. They’ll start blogs and “send the word” to the rest of the world through email and Facebook pokes. In fact, you might even see a media network emerge that is exceptionally well funded. They might buy one or maybe they’ve already got one ready to go. Chances are, if you’re someone like this, you’ve already got a network. You don’t make public recommendations like this, get them approved and wait for someone else to swoop in to seal the deal.
Expect a few TV channels will be approved and rankings for anti-Rummie posts will silently disappear, like rebels in Chile or Argentina did in the 70s. Maybe a newspaper like TASS?
And how will it all materialize? Let’s face it: It’s already here. ABCNNBCBS has been a great start, but they obviously aren’t impressing anyone because Darth Rummie has decided to step it up a notch.
Expect to see a lot of “there’s nothing to see here … please move on” stories. But not from this source.
