In the 1970's Senator William Fulbright wrote a book entitled The Pentagon Propaganda Machine in which he stated that, even at that time, the Pentagon was by far the largest producer of motion pictures in the entire world.

Mrs. Deni Gross, Director
2668
Plow Road, Birdsboro, PA 19508-8247 U.S.A.
cfpeace@hotmail.com
http://www.theoservice.org

You may have chuckled over the antics of Dustin Hoffman and Robert de
Niro
as a top Hollywood producer and notorious White House public relations
man
in the fictional comedy "Wag the Dog." In the movie, these two men were
hired by a White House administration to bolster the President's
deteriorating image, and direct attention away from his involvement in
a
scandal. They accomplished their goal by "creating" on American
television
screens a war which, unknown to the viewing public, really did not
exist.
The President handled the "war situation" brilliantly, thanks to
flawless
staging and detailed coaching by Hoffman and de Niro; and in an
outpouring
of patriotism and solidarity, the public bought the entire scam,
sending
the President's ratings through the roof! The plot may have seemed a
bit
far-fetched at the time, but if the American television network ABC has
its
way this summer, "art" may once again mimick reality -- just a bit too
closely.

ABC plans to air a 13-part, weekly prime time reality show called
"Profiles
From the Front Line," which will focus on the stories of U.S. military
men
and women on the front lines of wars around the world. The Defense
Department claims that it is giving this project "unparalleled support
and
cooperation." In fact, the Pentagon will have pre-screening rights over
the
show, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has already signed off on
the
project.

The show's producers include Jerry Bruckheimer, who did such
pro-military
movies as "Black Hawk Down" and "Top Gun." Bruckheimer claims that the
show
is not a propaganda vehicle for the military; but critics feel
otherwise,
saying the show will (according to Lorraine Demi of the Committee
Opposed
to Militarism and the Draft) "further blur the line between
entertainment
and news and serve as a military info-mercial."

Critics question the motivation of government involvement in this
project,
particularly since those same officials are limiting news journalists'
access to the war in Afghanistan. According to Lorraine Demi, media
executives from movie studios and TV networks have been meeting with
White
House officials since the September 11th tragedy to form a special
panel in
charge of crafting "a new global image for the U.S." and helping
"format
its message about the current war on terrorism via the media." Does
this
sound surprisingly similar to the scenario of the movie Wag the Dog?"
Is it
just a bit unnerving to wonder how much of what we see in the media
might
be fabricated to suit one person's or group's agenda?

If you are concerned about these developments, you may want to express
your
feelings to ABC and/or the other networks. All the major networks have
websites where you can send e-mail comments. Note that CBS has already
aired "American Fighter Pilots," a similar type of show, pre-screened
by
the Air Force; and the VH1 music channel plans to show a Summer series
of
video diaries from military personnel, pre-screened by the Pentagon.

The most important action is that you send a regular postal message to
ABC,
concerning their Summer show, "Profiles From the Front Line," pointing
out
that Pentagon pre-screening of shows and airing biased, edited versions
of
real war situations sounds dangerously close to government censorship
of
the media.

For this action, you may send messages from any country of the world,
for
international viewpoints on this issue could be quite helpful. In fact,
if
similar types of "entertainment" are being offered in your country
outside
the U.S., you may want to contact your own media. As always, we would
appreciate receiving copies of any replies you receive from letters you
send on this or any other actions.

ABC, Inc.
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521-4551 USA


Please feel free to contact us any time with questions or comments
about
this alert or with suggestions for future actions.

MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH -- MAY PEACE PREVAIL IN OUR HEARTS

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