Gardiner's Report - Keep this one handy

Sam Gardiner (Retired Colonel - USAF) has released a blazing study of the propaganda, misdirections, and outright lies, of the US and UK before, during , and after the invasion of Iraq. The report is in Adobe pdf format and here are the links to the various portions: Truth from these Podia. Summary of a Study of Strategic Influence, Perception Management, Strategic Information Warfare and Strategic Pyschological OPerations in Gulf 2 Gardiner, 10/08/03.
Truth from the Podia - part 1
Truth from the Podia - part 2
Truth from the Podia - part 3
Truth from the Podia - part 5
Truth from the Podia - part 6

Summary of the study:

The united States (and UK) conducted a strategic influence campaign that:
- ... distorted perceptions of the situation both before and during the conflict.
- ... caused misdirection of portions of the military operation.
- ... was irresponsible in parts.
- ... might have been illegal in some ways.
- ... cost big bucks.
- ... will be even more serious in the future.

For all the information packed within Gardiner's report, perhaps the most concerning is that the powers that be see these activities as so successful, that they will do more of them in the future.

As is already known, the spin doctors are out with the PR campaign to convince the US public that the lies are truth - even going so far as to repeat stories that have already been disproven. Information can uundermine lies and misdirections. So, my recommendations? Look over the report. Save it to disk. Share it with others.

While this report is not the only compilation of information surfacing, it does have credibility behind it. We seem to be living in a time of lies and outright fairy tales where the bluring of reality and fantasy is becoming increasingly difficult to determine. My guess is that this process will become more artful rather than less.

I have also placed the link under "Featured Articles" for easy access.