TV military 'analysts' are part of what Ike warned against

A New York Times report shines a light on how the military-industrial complex tries to shape broadcast news.

The faces dominating the front page of The New York Times last Sunday were male, strong-jawed and familiar. Indeed, that was the point.

They were the faces of nine retired military officers (there were more inside the paper) who appear regularly on network and cable television news to give viewers informed, independent assessments of the war in Iraq.

At least that was the idea.

What viewers have been getting, the Times revealed, is something quite different. The paper reported convincingly that some retired officers appearing as "military analysts" have been pushing Pentagon propaganda in return for continued access to top officials and financial benefit for themselves.

According to the Times report, "Analysts have been wooed in hundreds of private briefings with senior military leaders, including officials with significant influence over contracting and budget matters. They have been taken on tours of Iraq and given access to classified intelligence. They have been briefed by officials from the White House, State Department and Justice Department.

"In turn, members of this group have echoed administration talking points, sometimes even when they suspected the information was false or inflated," the report said. "Some analysts acknowledge they suppressed doubts because they feared jeopardizing their access. A few expressed regret for participating in what they regarded as an effort to dupe the American public." More