Military Will Keep Planting Articles in Iraq

Army Gen. George W. Casey said the internal review had concluded that the U.S. military was not violating U.S. law or Pentagon guidelines with the information operations campaign, in which U.S. troops and a private contractor write pro-American articles and pay to have them planted without attribution in Iraqi media.

"By and large, it found that we were operating within our authorities and responsibilities," Casey said, adding that he had no intention of shutting the program down.

The program has been criticized both inside and outside the military as detrimental to U.S. credibility and contrary to the principles of a free press in a nascent, embattled democracy.

Though the final report by Navy Adm. Scott R. Van Buskirk is not complete, Casey's comments are a clear sign that the U.S. military sees the propaganda effort as a critical tool for winning hearts and minds in Iraq.

Van Buskirk's report could pave the way for the Pentagon to replicate the practice -- which would be illegal in the United States -- in other parts of the world.

Casey's comments, made during a video teleconference with Pentagon reporters, also highlighted the split in attitude on the program between military commanders in Baghdad and some senior officials in Washington.

After the program's existence was revealed in an article in The Times three months ago, White House officials said they were "very concerned" about the practice of paying Iraqi newspapers to publish unattributed articles written by members of the American military.

At the same time, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld recently defended the program during a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, saying it was an innovative tool for countering a "campaign of disinformation" by Iraqi insurgents.

Rumsfeld also criticized media coverage of the program, saying the reporting had created a "chilling effect" on efforts to improve the way the U.S. communicates with foreign audiences.

Since early last year, the program has planted hundreds of articles in Iraqi newspapers highlighting progress made by Iraqi troops, efforts to rebuild Iraq and U.S.-led offensives against insurgents.