Military officials in Baghdad say Petraeus does not want to try to manage the news; they insist he is not interested in extreme changes. Under the Petraeus plan, public affairs officials would continue to work directly for unit commanders, but would coordinate extensively with information officers.
Many brigades in Iraq already have placed public affairs and information officers in adjoining offices. The senior military official close to Petraeus said public affairs and information operations officers should work out of the same planning cell. That would ensure that messages spread by information operations officers and public affairs do not conflict and "work at cross purposes," the official said.
Although many public affairs officials trust Petraeus, some fear that other commanders, who may care less about the military's credibility with the press, could use Petraeus' policy request to subordinate public affairs officials to information operations officers.
Information operations may encompass what the military calls psychological operations -- a range of persuasion techniques to influence local populations in foreign countries. Operations can be as simple as spreading truthful information via a loudspeaker truck or giving deliberately false information on a televised broadcast.
In 2004, for instance, a Marine public affairs officer announced the start of a U.S.-led effort in Fallouja on CNN; the assault did not begin until three weeks later. The false announcement was intended to gauge the reaction of insurgents. However, Pentagon officials said the use of a military spokesman also deceived American and Iraqi citizens.
The senior officer close to Petraeus said that information operations officers in Baghdad are not engaging in deception, so there was little risk to military credibility.
"Public affairs officers will not be involved in deception operations," the officer said. "There are red lines public affairs will not cross. They will not jeopardize their credibility."
Others are more skeptical of Petraeus' request, believing that the information operations officers engage in deception at times and that military spokespeople must steer well clear.
"They will tell you" psychological operations "is always truthful. But you know how the game works," said a senior defense official.
Those who favor rescinding or altering the Myers memo argue that it is better for public affairs officers to know what information officers are up to, so as to better prevent misleading information from filtering back to the U.S.But other Pentagon officials say that as soon as information operations and public affairs start working together regularly, reporters will start questioning the information they are getting.
"You will start asking constantly, 'Am I being spun?' " the senior official said. "The audience will lose trust and confidence in the commander's message."
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julian.barnes@latimes.com
