Vanden Brook on his hobby horse. Now that he has successfully destroyed strategic communication (in his mind I am sure he takes credit for that) he will take on SOCOM and PSYOP/MISO. (Of course I thought with the name change to MISO no one would associate that with propaganda again – but I guess Vanden Brook is too smart to be taken in by that)
I am sure from Vanden Book's perspective this excerpt reveals what he thinks SOCOM is made up of and what SOCOM should only be doing:
Special Operations Command, based in Tampa, directs the military's elite commando units — the Navy's SEALs and Army's Delta Force — in counterterrorism missions. SOCOM, as it is known, conducted the operation to kill Osama bin Laden and dealt bloody blows to insurgent groups in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Stimson Center report can be downloaded here: http://www.stimson.org/books-reports/the-pentagon-as-pitchman-perception-and-reality-of-public-diplomacy/
Special Operations Command leads propaganda fight
Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
- Spending on propaganda websites has more than doubled since 2009
- Controversial longtime military PR guru is a key SOCOM adviser
- SOCOM conducted the operation to kill Osama bin Laden
2:53PM EST December 6. 2012 - WASHINGTON — The military's Special Operations Command has become an emerging player in the Pentagon's propaganda efforts to confront violent extremists around the world, according to documents and a new report from a non-partisan think tank.
Special Operations Command, based in Tampa, directs the military's elite commando units — the Navy's SEALs and Army's Delta Force — in counterterrorism missions. SOCOM, as it is known, conducted the operation to kill Osama bin Laden and dealt bloody blows to insurgent groups in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Key to its propaganda efforts is a collection of websites known as the Trans Regional Web Initiative aimed at foreign audiences. USA TODAY first reported on its existence in 2008, and it appears to have expanded.
(Continued at the link below)
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/12/06/socom-leads-propaganda-fight/1746013/
While I'm on record as NOT being a fan of John Rendon, Vanden Brook strikes me as the type who gets it about half-right and then fills in the blanks with his pre-conceived notions. I'm often amazed at how relative dilletantes to this world are able to make a claim at some level of expertise.
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