The New York Times headlined today with an expose of the effort by the Pentagon to spread the Bush administration’s Iraq talking points by briefing supposedly independent retired commanders for television appearances. Examination by The New York Times has found that hidden behind an appearance of objectivity, “is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance”, and that “most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air”. The NYT is featuring an in-depth multi-media presentation titled “How the Pentagon Spread Its Message” which provides audio, video and primary documents that show how the military’s talking points were disseminated.

Here’s a clip we found of General Montgomery Meigs (one of the Pentagon’s “experts”) who appeared on Meet The Press on August 28, 2005. Notice his Freudian slip while making the case that this war is going far better than what the media is portraying.