by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Satyam Khanna, Matt Corley, Ali Frick, and Benjamin Armbruster

MILITARY

More Spin Uncovered

Last month, in a major exposé, the New York Times reported that the Pentagon had created a domestic propaganda program that made use of more than 75 "military analysts" to disseminate favorable coverage of the Bush administration's war efforts. The program included, for example, private briefings with former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other top officials, commercial airfare, and the distribution of favorable "talking points" to analysts prior to media appearances. Virtually all of the major networks were involved in the program, including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, and NPR. The retired military officials serving as media analysts often had contracting ties with the government but pushed the Pentagon line on air without revealing the conflict of interest.  Earlier this month, the Pentagon released a major document collection in response to the Times's article, shining even more light on the magnitude of the operation. In a recent letter, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) called on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a "full investigation of this program and report its findings." Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) also wrote to the GAO, observing: "Allegedly, the Pentagon discouraged the analysts from publicly describing the nature of their relationship with the Pentagon. This clearly violates the spirit, if not the letter, of the law."

PRO-BUSH SPIN OPERATION: An examination of the Pentagon's internal conversations confirms that the Pentagon created "a kind of media Trojan horse -- an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage," as the Times put it. A July 6, 2006 e-mail from Pentagon official Jeffrey Gordon circulated "thoughtful" words by right-wing talkers Bill O'Reilly and Michelle Malkin on Guantanamo Bay. In the Malkin column, she decried the "unseriousness and hypocrisy of the terrorist-abetting left" on Guantanamo. O'Reilly said there were only "minor cases of abuse" at the prison. A "talking points" document from the summer of 2003 pushed the infamous words "dead-enders" and "bitter-enders" to refer to Iraqis who attacked American troops. A later memo reiterated that "the dead-enders are not driving us out of anywhere." Other e-mails reveal a deliberate attempt by the Pentagon to cover up its heavy hand. In a Feb.16, 2006 exchange, Pentagon media staffers discussed coordinating with the Heritage Foundation for a speaker on Guantanamo. An anonymous staffer suggested retired Army Sergeant Major Steve Short because "he seems to be on message and very articulate." "Important to remember that heritage can invite anyone to present and that we don't really have an opinion on anyone," responded Allison Barber of the Pentagon. "[G]asp. are you telling me to tell a lie???? surely not ;)," the anonymous staffer responded.

WHITE HOUSE INVOLVEMENT?: Last month, reporter Eric Brewer asked White House Press Secretary Dana Perino about whether the White House was involved in the military analyst program. Perino responded, "I just said, no." But the Pentagon's document collection raises questions about the White House's role. A March 16, 2006 e-mail from Pentagon official Dallas Lawrence referenced "a closed call opened only to our retired military analysts...to get them on message heading into the weekend on Iraqi troop strength, advances, etc." A follow-up from an anonymous e-mailer said he or she was "hoping to have Hadley brief these guys next week," referring to National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. Responding to this e-mail, Lawrence added, "Id love to see if we ocould [could] get them in with potus [President Bush] as well. (I think that was submitted to karl and company...last week)." A May 23, 2006 from Lawrence also references "karl." As Salon's Glenn Greenwald noted, the "karl" references strongly suggest that at least former Bush political adviser Karl Rove was involved.

MEDIA STILL QUIET: The media has been curiously silent on the Times's exposé, despite clear involvement in the program. "Did we drink the government kool-aid? -- of course," said CNN military analyst Don Sheppard in a June 23, 2006 e-mail about his government-sponsored trip to Guantanamo. In the week after the story broke, the Project for Excellence in Journalism found that out of roughly 1,300 news stories, "only two touched on the Pentagon analysts scoop," both airing on PBS. "I can only conclude that the networks are staying away...because they are embarrassed about what some of their military analysts did or don't want to give the controversy more prominence," said Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post. As Media Matters reported, the military analysts cited in the Times article have been quoted more than 4,500 times by a range of news outlets since Jan. 1, 2002. On April 24, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) wrote letters to the heads of the major networks on the "specifics about each outlet's policies surrounding the hiring and vetting of military analysts reporting on the Iraq War." As of May 8, only ABC and CNN responded.

GLOBAL WARMING -- POLAR BEAR THREATENED, LISTED AS ENDANGERED SPECIES: Yesterday, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced that the polar bear will be placed under the protection of the Endangered Species Act. The polar bear's "summertime Arctic hunting grounds have been greatly reduced by a warming climate," but "Kempthorne also made it clear that it would be 'wholly inappropriate' to use the listing as a tool to reduce greenhouse gases, as environmentalists had intended to do." However, according to an "unprecedented study" by experts including members of the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, "Global warming is disrupting wildlife and the environment on every continent." The experts found that "at least" 90 percent "of environmental damage and disruption around the world could be explained by rising temperatures driven by human activity." Having "examined published reports dating back to 1970," the scientists also found that "[b]ig falls in Antarctic penguin populations, fewer fish in African lakes, shifts in American river flows and earlier flowering and bird migrations in Europe are all likely to be driven by global warming." CONGRESS -- CONSERVATIVES USE GI BILL AS 'POLITICAL GIMMICK' TO THWART PASSAGE OF FIRST RESPONDER LEGISLATION: Yesterday, the Senate debated the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007 (H.R. 980), a bill strengthening the collective bargaining powers of firefighters, police officers, and first responders. But the Senate quickly "devolved into a procedural mess" when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) attempted to attach Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-SC) watered-down GI Bill as an amendment. McConnell immediately seconded his own measure and then filed cloture, "prohibiting Democrats from filing their own version of the proposal." The amendment was meant to be a poison pill that would not only kill the Public Safety bill but also block Sen. Jim Webb's (D-VA) more generous GI Bill from being considered. In a fiery floor speech, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) called it a "parliamentary gimmick" that "is a slap in the face to every firefighter and police officer and first responder in the country." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) angrily reacted to the GOP maneuver by issuing a quorum call and denying Sen. Judd Gregg's (R-NH) right to speak three times. Eventually, the Senate voted 55-42 to table the Graham amendment. HUMAN RIGHTS -- ACLU UNCOVERS DOCUMENTS SHOWING DEATHS, CHILD IMPRISONMENT IN US DETENTION CAMPS: Through a Freedom of Information Act request, the ACLU "has obtained previously withheld documents from the Defense Department" that shed light on the deaths of detainees in Iraq. One of the documents is a list of "at least four prisoner deaths" that were investigated by the Navy, including one detainee at Abu Ghraib who died after "his head was beaten with a stove." "These documents provide further evidence that the torture of prisoners in United States custody abroad was not aberrational, but was widespread and systemic," Amrit Singh, an ACLU staff attorney, said. Other documents reveal that the U.S. "has detained approximately 2,500 people younger than 18 as illegal enemy combatants in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay since 2002." Currently, there are two prisoners still detained at Guantanamo -- a 21 year-old and a 23 year-old -- who were captured when they were juveniles. Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU's human rights program, said, "Juveniles and former child soldiers should be treated first and foremost as candidates for rehabilitation and reintegration into society, not subjected to further victimization." View the previously undisclosed documents here.

Solicitor General Paul Clement, "the government's voice at the Supreme Court, resigned Wednesday, a sign that the Bush administration's legal agenda is fading as it prepares to wind down." Clement served the entirety of the Bush administration in the solicitor general's office, pushing a legal agenda that included issues such as limiting abortion rights and increasing executive powers. Since 2002, the United States has "detained approximately 2,500 people younger than 18 as illegal enemy combatants in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay," according to a report filed by the Bush administration with the U.N.Committee on the Rights of the Child. Though roughly 2,400 of the underage detainees were captured in Iraq after the U.S. invasion, only about 500 of them still remain in custody. The California Supreme Court will today "rule on a series of lawsuits seeking to overturn a voter-approved law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. If the court rules in favor of the plaintiffs, California could become the second state after Massachusetts where gay and lesbian residents can marry." According to AAA, "Alaska has become the first state" where gas prices are averaging more than $4 a gallon. On Wednesday, regular gasoline averaged $4.006 a gallon, up from $3.983 the day before. Nationwide, gas prices have risen about 67 cents since the end of December. Leading legal defense groups yesterday of accused the Bush administration "foot-dragging on security clearances that would let civilian lawyers help their military counterparts defend the alleged plotters of the Sept. 11 attacks at Guantanamo." According to the ACLU, none of the eight lawyers who applied for clearances in recent months have been approved. And finally: A candidate for Senate moves mountains. Bob Schaffer, Republican candidate for Senate in Colorado, launched his campaign yesterday with an ad proclaiming, "Colorado is my life." The snow-capped mountain appearing in the background, however, is a photo of Mt. McKinley, which is North America's highest peak -- and which sits in Alaska, not Colorado. Campaign manager Dick Wadhams insisted, "The message is still good."

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As part of an overall effort to "boost benefits for service members and veterans," the House Armed Services Committee approved a defense spending authorization bill early on Thursday that includes "a 3.9 percent pay raise for troops" and "a prohibition on increased health care fees" -- benefits that are "more than President Bush wants."

CALIFORNIA: "A federal appeals court in San Francisco barred logging at three sites in the Plumas National Forest, part of the Sierra Nevada range."

NEW YORK: "[L]abor unions are flexing their muscles in the capital to a degree not seen in years."

ALASKA: "Alaska has become the first state with an average gasoline pump price exceeding $4 a gallon."

THINK PROGRESS: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) farm bill priority: tax breaks for thoroughbred race horse owners.

WONK ROOM: Low education = high health risks.

CROOKS AND LIARS: MSNBC's Keith Olbermann takes President Bush to task over his declaration that he has given up golf to support the troops.

HUFFINGTON POST: Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) makes his presence known in the contentious Senate GI Bill debate.

"We have an obligation to call this what it is -- the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history."
-- President Bush, 5/15/08, on diplomatic engagement with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad

VERSUS

"We need to figure out a way to develop some leverage...and then sit down and talk with [Iran]."
-- Defense Secretary Robert Gates, 5/14/08