This would be a farce if it weren't so tragic.
U.S. military leaders in Baghdad have put out for bid a two-year, $20 million public relations contract that calls for extensive monitoring of U.S. and Middle Eastern media in an effort to promote more positive coverage of news from Iraq.
The contract calls for assembling a database of selected news stories and assessing their tone as part of a program to provide "public relations products" that would improve coverage of the military command's performance, according to a statement of work attached to the proposal.
The request for bids comes at a time when Bush administration officials are publicly criticizing media coverage of the war in Iraq.
The proposal suggests a team of 12 to 18 people who would provide support for the coalition military command as well as the Iraqi government leadership.
Prospective contractors are also asked to propose four to eight public relations events per month, such as speeches or news conferences, including "preparation of likely questions and suggested answers, themes and messages as well as background, talking points."
An attempt yesterday to reach the contracting officer for this project was not successful. Bids are due Sept. 6, and the 24-month contract is scheduled to begin on Oct. 28.
You see, it's ALL a P/R campaign to Bu$hCo., never their POLICIES. Never mind the fact that this is $20 Million (and you know that's just the beginning) that won't be going to help areas decimated by Katrina, or Veterans benefits, border security or any other means that could actually help our country. They're going to continue to pour money into more propaganda and media control exercises. You know what Bu$hCo.? Save your money. No amount of bought and paid for press is going to buy back your lost credibility. The voters, save the Thirty Something Percent Kool Aid Drinkers, stopped buying this BS a while ago. They stopped buying Rumsfeld's BS, they stopped buying Cheney's and they certainly stopped buying Frat-Boy-in-Chief's. November cannot come soon enough.