Media: The Associated Press
Byline: MATTHEW PERRONE
Date: 01 September 2006


WASHINGTON_The U.S. command in Baghdad is seeking bidders for a two-year,
$20 million (?15.6 million) public relations contract for monitoring the
tone of news stories about the Iraq war filed by U.S. and foreign media.

Proposals, due Sept. 6, ask companies to show how they would "provide
continuous monitoring and near-real time reporting of Iraqi, pan-Arabic,
international and U.S. media," according to the solicitation issued last
week.

Contractors also will be evaluated on how they would provide analytical
reports and customized briefings to the military, "including, but not
limited to, tone (positive, neutral, negative) and scope of media coverage."

The winner of the contract probably also would be required to develop an
Arabic version of the multinational force's Web site.

Attempts by The Associated Press to contact officials connected to the
project by telephone and e-mail were not successful Thursday night.

The program comes during what has appeared to be a White House effort,
before the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, to take the offensive
against critics as polls show withering support for the Bush
administration's Iraq policy.

President George W. Bush, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice have addressed the American Legion's national
convention in Salt Lake City this week and stressed that the administration
is countering extremism with hope and democracy. They also have attacked
critics of the U.S. policy in the war as misguided or worse.

The military last year was criticized for a public relations scheme in Iraq
that included hiring a consulting firm that paid Iraqi news media to carry
news stories written by American troops.

Pentagon officials have defended the program as a necessary tool in Bush's
campaign against terror. But critics have said it contradicts American
values of freedom of the press.

Oh boy...I smell V for Vendetta...Controlling the press, monitoring phone calls, we're headin to communism here...

If we're moving towards any totalitarian govt its fascism. Not communism. Not with a right wing president. Either way both suck the big one.

Course, we may not have a right-winged President for long...

Originally Posted by C/1Lt Henderson

Oh boy...I smell V for Vendetta...Controlling the press, monitoring phone calls, we're headin to communism here...

They did a lot of monitoring during WWII and before. Only recently have we become liberal on the media covering conflicts