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U.S. Psychological Operations: Military Uses Networks to
Spread Misinformation
Bhopal Disaster 20 Years Later: A Look at One of the Worst
Industrial Disasters in History
U.S. Psychological Operations: Military Uses Networks
to Spread Misinformation
The U.S. military is reportedly distributing misinformation
to the media as part of a campaign of psychological operations.
The Los Angeles Times uncovered how the military sent spokespersons
to major news networks to deliberately lie about military
operations in Iraq in an effort to deceive the Iraqi resistance.
We speak with retired Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner.
The U.S. military is reportedly distributing misinformation
to the media as part of a campaign of psychological operations.
This according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. The paper
has uncovered incidents where the military has sent spokespersons
to major news networks to deliberately lie about military
operations in Iraq in an effort to deceive the Iraqi resistance.
In one case, on Oct. 14, a Marine spokesperson appeared on
CNN from Fallujah and said "Troops crossed the line of
departure." CNN was soon reporting the battle for Fallujah
had begun. In fact it wouldn't begin for another three weeks.
A senior Pentagon official told CNN that Gilbert's remarks
were "technically true but misleading." It was an
attempt to get CNN "to report something not true,"
the official said. The military claimed it wanted to see how
Iraqi fighters responded to the so-called news report.
Several top officials told the LA Times that they see a danger
of blurring what are supposed to be well-defined lines between
the stated mission of military public affairs and psychological
and information operations. One senior defense official told
the paper "The movement of information has gone from
the public affairs world to the psychological operations world.
What's at stake is the credibility of people in uniform."
- Col. Sam Gardiner, retired Air Force Colonel. He has
taught strategy and military operations at the National
War College, AirWar College and Naval War College.
Bhopal Disaster 20 Years Later: A Look at One of
the Worst Industrial Disasters in History
On the night of December 2nd, 1984, tons of lethal gases
leaked from Union Carbide's pesticide factory in Bhopal, India.
Clouds of suffocating gases blanketed the city of half a million
people. 7,000 people lost their lives within days. 15,000
more lost died in the following years. 100,000 others are
still suffering chronic and debilitating illnesses. Today
to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal tragedy,
we take an in-depth look at one of the worst industrial disasters
of the 20th Century.
On the night of December 2nd, 1984 in the city of Bhopal,
India, tons of lethal gases leaked from a U.S. pesticide factory
into the air. The factory's safety systems were either malfunctioning
or turned off. Clouds of suffocating gases blanketed the city
of half a million people. Residents awoke with throats burning
and tears streaming. They began a desperate flight through
the dark streets. The gases produced so much fluid in people's
lungs that many drowned in their own body fluids. Many fell
dead as they ran. No alarm ever sounded a warning and no evacuation
plan was prepared. 7,000 people lost their lives within days.
15,000 more lost died in the following years. Around 100,000
others are still suffering chronic and debilitating illnesses.
It was one of the worst industrial disasters of the 20th Century.
These are the personal stories of some of the victims.
- "Scared Sacred" - Excerpt of documentary narrated
and produced by Velcrow Ripper.
The factory that caused the disaster was owned by a U.S.
company called Union Carbide. In 1987, the Bhopal District
Court charged Union Carbide and its officials, including CEO
Warren Anderson, with culpable homicide, grievous assault
and other serious offences. Union Carbide and its officials
have repeatedly ignored the Court's summons.
In 1989, Union Carbide and the Indian Government arrived
at a negotiated settlement of $470 million for all gas-disaster
related injuries. A large portion of those funds have been
held by the Indian government. In total, the average pay out
for personal injury was around $400 per person. In 2001, Union
Carbide was bought out by US multinational Dow Chemical.
Today on the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, we will spend
the rest of the hour taking a look at Bhopal, one of the worst
industrial accidents of the 20th Century.
- Satinath Sarangi, a metallurgical engineer turned activist
who arrived in Bhopal a day after the disaster and stayed
on to become a key figure in the struggle for justice in
Bhopal. He is a founding trustee of the Sambhavna Clinic,
a non-profit clinic dedicated to the holistic treatment
of gas-affected persons in Bhopal. He is a member of the
International Campaign for
Justice in Bhopal.
- Jack Doyle, author of the new book Trespass Against Us:
Dow Chemical & the Toxic Century (Common Courage).
- Ryan Bodanyi, coordinator of Students
for Bhopal, which is organizing events at colleges around
the world.
- Union Carbide audio press releases - Spokesperson Tomm
Sprick.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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