Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2006 14:13:58 -0600

 The Pentagon’s War on the Internet

 By Mike Whitney

 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.