Via the NYT: Muslim Scholars Were Paid to Aid U.S. Propaganda

A Pentagon contractor that paid Iraqi newspapers to print positive articles written by American soldiers has also been compensating Sunni religious scholars in Iraq in return for assistance with its propaganda work, according to current and former employees.

I understand the need for propaganda in war. However, in this one, since the goal here is to demonstrate the attractiveness of democratic norms and values, manipulation of the media strikes me as having a significant downside in terms of achieving our overall goals in Iraq.

Now, retaining Sunni consultants does make sense, insofar as we need to understand the common citizen in Iraq. Of course, if the idea is to use Sunni consultants to directly influence the populace, that is likely to backfire, as any such religious leader known to be paid by the US would, no doubt, lose credibility.