The Rent-A-Generals Attempt to Head Skelton Off at the Pass

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At least that’s what I surmise from this news:

The Defense Department has temporarily stopped feeding information to retired military officers pending a review of the issue, said Robert Hastings, principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for public affairs.

The New York Times first reported on Sunday that the Defense Department was giving information to retired officers serving as pundits for various media organizations in order to garner favorable media coverage.

Some of these retired officers saw their access to key decision-makers as possible business opportunities for the defense contractors they represent, according to the newspaper. The story also alleged that the officers who did not repeat the Bush administration’s official line were denied further access to information.

Hastings said he is concerned about allegations that the Defense Department’s relationship with the retired military analysts was improper.

"Following the allegations, the story that is printed in the New York Times, I directed my staff to halt, to suspend the activities that may be ongoing with retired military analysts to give me time to review the situation," Hastings said in an interview with Stripes on Friday.

Hastings said he did not discuss the matter with Defense Secretary Robert Gates prior to making his decision. He could not say Friday how long this review might take.

"We’ll take the time to do it right," he said.

As I noted yesterday, Ike Skelton sure sounded like he was going to return to the Rent-A-General program.

Skelton spoke of "discussing these matters in the day ahead." If Skelton (and hopefully Levin with him) treat this threat to the credibility of the military seriously, we might actually get people to begin to report on the Influence Industry in Washington.

Let’s hope Hastings’ little pre-emptive strike doesn’t dissuade Skelton. 

27 replies
  1. MadDog says:

    I wonder if Ike could “persuade” Torri Clarke, former Pentagon spokesperson, and a instrumental player in the “Propagandists for Profit” hoodwinking to show up for a wee few questions?

    Answering questions about stuff like this from 5 years ago:

    Episodes like the news briefing on Tuesday are part of the most difficult trial yet for Ms. Clarke, 43, who has devoted her career in politics and public relations to working with clients in tricky situations. As a campaign aide, she defended the first President Bush as his popularity evaporated in the polls. She later represented the cable industry when it infuriated consumers with rising rates and poor service.

    By most accounts, Ms. Clarke has been pivotal in easing some tensions between the military and the media — two famously cantankerous institutions. And she defends the Pentagon’s decision to station reporters with the troops. Colleagues said she had a crucial role in selling the idea to her superiors.

    “We think it’s the right thing to do,” said Ms. Clarke, pointing out that nearly 600 American and foreign reporters were traveling, eating and sleeping with the troops on the battlefield. “So far, so good. There has never been as much access to leadership in the building — military and civilian. I really want the American people to see how incredible these young men and women are.”

    But her policy might haunt her, particularly as strains emerge and the war appears more complex than first envisioned — and sold — to the American public. Retired generals offer instant critiques on cable news networks; troops stalled on the battlefield complain to interviewers; and a handful of reporters have divulged too much specific information from the front.

    It falls to Ms. Clarke to confront that dissonance and project harmony.

    “Torie has the very difficult job of squaring the circle between the reality of war and the media’s expectations and preconceptions of what war is,” said Michael Murphy, a Republican strategist. “It’s very tough real estate.”

    ~snip~

    …“I give Torie credit for opening up this process,” said Mark Thompson, the Defense Department correspondent for Time magazine. “This is a radical change.”

    ~snip~

    …Ms. Clarke denies trying to sculpt a positive image of the war…

    ~snip~

    …When The Star closed in the early 1980’s, Ms. Clarke drifted into politics. She took a job as an assistant White House photographer, working for Vice President George Bush.

    Her next job was working for John McCain, then a junior congressman. Mr. McCain, who is now an influential Republican senator from Arizona, remembers Ms. Clarke as a competent professional who also knew how to have fun.

    “She wasn’t a lounge lizard, or anything like that,” he said. “She just enjoyed a night out — dinner with friends, things like that. It was all very healthy.”

    After work, she drank cocktails, went to parties, danced to Motown and enjoyed the singles scene in Washington.

    She helped usher Mr. McCain through the Keating Five savings and loan scandal and the criticism he faced by voting against the deployment of marines to Lebanon in 1983.

    Oh, and did I say that St. McBush likes blondes, bottle or otherwise?

    • klynn says:

      I was reading Torie’s history after I read EW’s earlier post on this. It was “typical DC bottle” as you have noted.

      The bottom line for us right now is to clean house on this and restore credibility. Heads need to roll big time for credibility restoration. No hand slapping, heads rolling.

      Related to the credibility grand canyon gap are: the wonderful Niger forgeries, the “slide show” yesterday and the secret letter from Bush on West Bank expansion among others. Hugh’s lists still getting added to?

      “Time to review the situation” sounds like a hand slapping time to me. I would have had someone fired, (preferably arrested or charged) by today.

  2. readerOfTeaLeaves says:

    Let’s hope Hastings’ little pre-emptive strike doesn’t dissuade Skelton.

    Assuming Skelton has Iraq vets in his district, or a family that’s lost someone in Iraq, he’ll be able to keep his focus.

  3. Loo Hoo. says:

    What ever became of McCane’s (thanks punaise) woman problem? It seems to have gone off the radar.

  4. Minnesotachuck says:

    Here’s an excerpt from Pat Lang’s post on the Rent-A-General affair:

    Yes, and those who did not “play ball” were systematically excluded from access by the Pentagon. The MSM picked up those cues (presumably transmitted by the Administration) and stopped talking to many of the best people. . . I was invited to one briefing at the Pentagon. At the meeting, many of those mentioned in this article were present. The purpose of the meeting was to give Rumsfeld the chance to explain the Abu Ghraib mess. . . I asked some awkward questions and was not invited again.

    I’ve only sporadically been able to get on the ‘net the past few days, so my apologies, EW, if this was linked on your earlier post.

    PS: The work you do here is as awesome as it is vital!

  5. GeorgeSimian says:

    Am I wrong in thinking that if these Generals were going on the news before the war in Iraq, and were employed by military contractors, that they basically helped start this war to profit their employers? I get hints of this, but I’m not seeing this expressly said in the media.

    • MarieRoget says:

      I’d like to see Bill Moyers cover the Rent-a-General story. He did an excellent show on the overall media cheerleading in the run up to the Iraq war, and as w/that piece, perhaps some segments would go on youtube, into the blogosphere, maybe even viral. This story needs some tv legs to build on, before the PTB succeed in burying it.

  6. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Before Karl Rove, the Department of Defense held news conferences. Two things happened. The DoD gave professional reporters and analysts their best take on the facts. It then submitted to questions, sometimes, which attempted to deconstruct that perspective and get a bit closer to the truth.

    Karl decided he knew a better way to sell snake oil, without those pesky questions and often without facts. Karl Rove: democracy’s worst nightmare. He’s still the GOP point man on manipulating public perception. Which is why those stand up guys Dick and George keep saying he’s a swell guy. Who’s betting Karl’s on the presidential pardon list come January? (Assuming the public pardons aren’t supplemented by secret ones.)

  7. radiofreewill says:

    It looks like we are already seeing the phrase “Military Analysts at the Pentagon” being cited in wirestories – that’s good.

    Now, will we see ‘independent’ Military Analysis being added to those stories?

    So, instead of seeing a news story that simply says, “Fox News is reporting that the Bush Administration says the Israelis bombed a nuclear-related site in Syria, approved by President Bush,” and then trotting-out a SHILL to ‘back it up’…

    …maybe now we’ll also see, “however, there is much concern amongst Independent Military Analysts, such as [Col. Lang, Jane’s Defense Weekly, etc.]”

    IOW, as important as Exposing the Ideologically Co-opted Rah-Rah “Military Analysts” is, it is just as important to regain an Independent Voice Amongst the Rational, Professional Military.

    No Military Mind with any sense whatsoever would attack Iran – it’s far more insane than Invading Iraq with 160,000 troops!

    But, that’s the problem with the Rent-A-Generals – while most of them may beat their chests and proclaim that they haven’t taken any money to say the things they’ve said, None Of Them Has Said The Plain And Obvious Truth On Iran.

    Oh, Great! They didn’t take any money in their Ideological Blindness to Ignore the Military Facts and Spew Bush’s Party Line!

    Instead, They’re Giving It Away For Free! Ergo – They Are Honorable!

    Honorable? Abu Ghraib has come and gone, Bush and Rumsfeld Approved Torture, still no word on Tillman, there isn’t a Military Opponent in Iraq, etc – and not a Peep out of the Rent-A-Generals.

    So, tagging them for Shilling is one thing, but getting Sensible Military Minds – with the Honor of Professional Soldiering – to Voice their Contrasting Opinions is another.

  8. dude says:

    I am struck at how there seems to be a double standard with military retirees. I think a large number of folks think a Congressman or Cabinet official who becomes a lobbyist at twice the salary is a bad thing. John Edwards is the only guy who made it plain he wanted to stifle the revolving door policy for Federal employees and elected officials. But when it comes to retired military, there also seems to be a notion that their dignity and honor is above reproach and we should never think they would stoop so low as to be tempted by business (or bought off) as shills and mouthpieces just like lobbyists. Some go so far as to argue that double-dipping is a reward for having endured the hardships of service.
    And because of these feelings, a number of people are reticient to accept that rent-a-generals exist no matter what the NYT says.

    • PJEvans says:

      Most of the retired military who people know personally haven’t been bought off. It’s the ones who stayed around DC after they retired and kept their connections alive that are the problem (and not all of them: look at Lang).

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      Enter the fray and those starched whites get dirty; these admirals and generals are pretending that ain’t so. In reality, they should be treated like any other partisan pundit, not some neutral interpreter of a complex world. That takes a willingness to question the aura of their uniform – to question their past authority and what they did to earn it – in order to question their current behavior.

      Authoritarians are unable to do that, and many progressives were reluctant to do it, which gave their propaganda undeserved legs. But then, that’s what makes propaganda effective. Framing a car or a chemical to reduce the smell of sweat under the arms as a “lifestyle choice” rather than as a utilitarian product, increases sales, just as propaganda lulls the electorate into thinking it, too, is getting something different than what it and the world are paying for.

  9. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Elizabeth Bumiller continues to try and outdo MoDo. She is enthralled with McCain’s “courage” in venturing into territory where Goopers fear to tread. That’s the title of today’s epistle to the McCinthians.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04…..ref=slogin

    What she means is that McCain’s venues are slightly less perfectly vetted and scripted than Cheney/Bush’s, men who never appear before an audience whose members are not prostrate in adoration, either because they agree with them or they sign their paychecks.

    Imagine the daughty, plucky, Churchillian images she raises as McCain ventures (for a few hours) into dangerous Democratic territory: a college auditorium – in Arizona! – or the 9th ward in Katrina-torn New Orleans. I wonder if McCain brought the cake he and Shrub used for a photo-op on the day the hurricane actually hit the Big Easy?

    That ain’t special, Liza, and it sure ain’t courage. That’s ordinary, raw, hypocritical politicking. It would be courageous of St. John if he actually made the NC GOP not use its openly racist ads against Obama. If he supported Sen. Webb’s bipartisan updating of the GI Bill, which has become as ineffectual in meeting the needs of today’s multi-tour grunts as the dollar limits imposed on 1970’s student loans would be in meeting today’s college tuition costs. It would be courageous of St. John if he acknowledged breaking his own campaign reform laws and made amends.

    Liza, those McRibs must sure taste finger-lickin’ good.

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      Gail Collins read the same internal NYTimes editors’ memo as Liza Bumiller:

      McCain’s Compassion Tour

      John McCain is fearless when it comes to delivering unpleasant news to people who are probably not going to vote for him anyway.

      Fortunately, we still have McClatchy:

      McCain’s poverty tour filled with contradictions

      http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/34933.html

    • PetePierce says:

      I somehow don’t see McBush’s permanant tax breaks as much benefit for the people in the Ninth ward who can barely aford a primitive roof over their heads and aren’t thrilled with toxic formaldahyde trailors that McBush’s CDC tried to cover up and actually demoted the physician who exposed the coverup.

      I can’t wait until we have a candidate so we can start tearing McCain and his stupid policies up since the moron MSM will never figure out what they are.

  10. freepatriot says:

    forward he cried from the rear

    and the front line died

    Pink told us all about this problem, twenty years or so back …

    high everybody, been having a serious relationship with 1000 sq feet of tile lately, so I been busy, but we’re ending our relationship today so …

    • readerOfTeaLeaves says:

      Hey, you!

      You once commented about … ‘illegal substances’ and then you vanished. So I’m making ONE comment — and one only — specifically for you. But it applies to all of us, and this place is all about transparency, so it’s a public comment.

      Ingesting, smoking, inhaling, or otherwise allowing ‘illegal substances’ into your bloodstream — where they travel straight to your brain — makes about as much sense as lifting the top of your skull off and pouring battery acid straight onto your cerebral cortex. Pulling stupid shit like that is toxic; knock it off.

      You have a good mind, and you’re curious.
      You’ve got too damn many brain cells to fry them stupidly.

      Eat right.
      GET EXERCISE.
      Stay curious.
      Then go get MORE exercise.
      You need to be done with ‘the tile environment’ and move on with your life.

      Your mama didn’t raise you to waste your brain.
      Use it.

      This is my last comment on this topic.

      • JohnJ says:

        This place is going to be very boring without coffee in the morning or a martini at night for some.

        I still enjoy the “white album” and loved “The Old Man and the Sea”.

        I thought the guy who named the “Iron Curtain” seemed to have done a pretty good job during the war.

        Even Timothy Leary took some of the psychological tests he wrote when they imprisoned him.

        Don’t get me started on the only true original American music.

        Just think how much better off the world would be if chimpy had not “quit” (yeah, sure he’s still dry).

        My HS class had the highest college grad rate in the country, and probably the highest LSD consumption rate while they were still in High school.

        On the negative side, the “lightning war” would have been a little slower if it hadn’t been “speeded up”; but even the “Rent-a-Generals” would admit it was impressive.

        The frozen man they found in the mountains had an interesting mushroom on his belt (maybe he WAS too distracted to see that glacier coming).

        I was amazed to have a guy I knew pull out a “fatty” and share it a few days before his 105th birthday, at his apartment after he got off work.

        ’tain’t personal; I still love your posts and appreciate your contributions, but I really look forward to fp’s “rants” to cut through the general BS of the topic. (I almost miss the troll just to hear freepatriot’s take downs).

        No siffin’ the adheasive, fp.

        …now what was I talking about?

  11. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Lest you think that the traditional media’s attention to detail, over, say, self-promotion, is limited to the US or to political news, try this headline from page one of the Guardian:

    Great white kills California[n] swimmer

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/25/usa2

    Fortunately, the AP story the Guardian republished as its homage to summer bathing (and the 33rd anniversary of Jaws) is more accurate:

    It was unknown what kind of shark was involved.

    Solana Beach is 23 kilometres (14 miles) north-west of San Diego.

    The last fatal shark attack in California, according to data from the state department of fish and game, took place on August 15 2004, in Mendocino County at Kibesillah Rock. A man who was skin diving for abalone was bitten by a white shark.

    Overall, shark attacks are extremely rare. There were 71 reported worldwide last year, up from 63 in 2006. Only one attack, in the South Pacific, was fatal, according to the University of Florida.

    The disconnect between headline accuracy and the facts in the underlying article is likely to increase as the political season progresses.

  12. freepatriot says:

    oooooppps

    make that thirtysomething years back

    did I ever mention that the 80s are kinda blurry for me ???

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      Laying a thousand feet of tile will do that to ya. Check the plans to see whether that pair of kneepads mortared into the center of the floor were in the original plans. *g* Good luck.

  13. MarieRoget says:

    Not really OT- from Col. Lang’s latest post, Syria, N. Korea, Iran- What Are U.S. Intentions? :

    “Now we have Mullen and Gates beating the drum against the Iranians. I have been traveling a lot lately in my own country and it is clear to me that many, many people in the USA are not in a position to resist propaganda spread in the MSM and by people like Mullen and Gates. “Guns of August?” Or maybe some other month? pl”

  14. Peterr says:

    Get ready, folks. If Ike returns to this issue, we’re going to hear from the Pentagon those words that Scotty McClellan had etched into his podium while he was the WH Press Secretary: “We can’t comment on an ongoing investigation.“

    Let’s hope Ike Skelton and Carl Levin don’t let it go at that. A nice reply would be “We understand. But I hope you understand that we can’t move forward on senior DOD promotions — like Petraeus’ new post — until we get some answers.”

  15. JohnLopresti says:

    “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist”.*

    Quick to use the military to start wars as a way to energize the economy, unlike risk-averse business types who controlled the Republican party, Democrats were still weary following the global conflicts in the 40s. The Democratic party president who preceded Eisenhower had some interesting postwar contemplations to offer at WestPoint during his respective final year in office as president in 1952, Truman’s formal address transcript is there.

    When Bush addressed WestPoint it was 2006, timed well prior to the elections that year, and he invoked Truman, by this juncture the Republicans having adopted many formerly Democratic party strategems in a sequence of 2 Republican led wars in Iraq. But is interesting that Bush’s talk proffers a very sparse picture of the proportion of the military in his political agendas; the transcript is there.

    This week the Department of defense announced promotion of Petraeus to responsibilities wider than Iraq; but the DoD leadership has undergone a lot of change since its days of Rusmfeld leadership ended in the immediate aftermath of US nationwide elections in 2006.
    ___
    *Eisenhower managed to express his stark chagrin at the looming problem of commercialization of the military, but the date on which he delivered that speech was during 1961 the final year of his tenure in the presidency. One transcript is there.

  16. readerOfTeaLeaves says:

    Hey, JohnJ, you said it better than I did:

    I really look forward to fp’s “rants” to cut through the general BS of the topic. (I almost miss the troll just to hear freepatriot’s take downs).

    I just want freep to be okay, and healthy.

    Those of us who are sick to death of bullshit and corruption need help smacking down the volumes of bullshit that ‘5,000,000 missing emails’, and ‘Syriana’ portend. And heaven only knows, freep’s got one righteous sense of justice. Just want him healthy enough to help move things forward.

    … white album… mushrooms… ‘fatties’… does take a person back aways…
    Just want freep to be in good health.

    His righteous sense of outrage and desire for justice always do me good.

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