goldenequity
08-02-2017, 12:07 PM
POLITICO OBAMACO
Tillerson refusing to release $80 million in funds to the Global Engagement Center (a.k.a. the Ministry of Truth) (http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/02/tillerson-isis-russia-propaganda-241218)
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is resisting the pleas of State Department officials
to spend nearly $80 million allocated by Congress for fighting terrorist propaganda and Russian disinformation.
It is highly unusual for a Cabinet secretary to turn down money for his department.
But more than five months into his tenure, Tillerson has not issued a simple request
for the money earmarked for the State Department's Global Engagement Center,
$60 million of which is now parked at the Pentagon.
Another$19.8 million sits untouched at the State Department as Tillerson's aides
reject calls from career diplomats and members of Congress to put the money to work against America's adversaries.
The $60 million will expire on Sept. 30 if not transferred to State by then, current and former State Department officials told POLITICO.
(hahaha... Remember: It's now war. Pentagon v CIA + 'infested' State Dept )
The struggle over the money is a case study in Tillerson's approach to managing the State Department
and the frustration it is engendering among American diplomats.
Current and former U.S. officials call it the latest example of a severe slowdown in department decision-making;
of Tillerson's reliance on a coterie of political aides who distrust State's career staffers;
and a casualty of President Donald Trump's intention to slash State's budget...
and blah, blah blah... the whining continues.
Sources cited another sensitive factor at play: Russia.
moar blah blah...
........
A Pentagon spending bill signed into law by former President Barack Obama in December
broadened the center's mandate to include battling state-sponsored disinformation campaigns
by countries such as China, North Korea and Russia.
U.S. intelligence officials say Moscow used fake news reports and malicious Twitter accounts to influence the 2016 election,
and lawmakers in both parties have called for a more robust U.S. response.
(like building another tax funded propaganda machine...)
...the center also partners with the private sector to test novel ways to defeat false information spread by U.S. adversaries.
One project has employed guerrilla marketing tactics to place anti-terrorism videos in the Facebook feeds
of young people showing an interest in jihadi media.
"Over the last five to 10 years, there's been a tsunami of disinformation and anti-American propaganda around the world,"
"The Global Engagement Center is one of the few, if only, areas in the U.S. government that could be tasked with countering and rebutting disinformation against America."
The Kremlin-backed news outlet Sputnik has compared the Global Engagement Center to George Orwell's Ministry of Truth (https://sputniknews.com/us/201612271049048037-obama-ndaa-propaganda-agency/).
Current and former State Department officials are particularly mystified as to why, aside from the $60 million at the Pentagon,
the Global Engagement Center has also been denied access to $19.8 million
dedicated to fighting the messaging of the Islamic State and other terrorist groups.
That $19.8 million is in the State Department's coffers but has yet to be directed to the Global Engagement Center.
Observers say the dispute over the various funds reflects Tillerson aides
who distrust the State Department's foreign service and civil service employees,
believing them hostile to Trump's agenda.
"There's paranoia and inertia - decisions are not being made,"
said one State Department official familiar with funding squabble.
(It's not paranoia if someone is actually out to get you.
They may very well recognize the likelihood of the Global Engagement Center using the program
as another tool to rail against his presidency. Why fuel the fire? )
Tillerson refusing to release $80 million in funds to the Global Engagement Center (a.k.a. the Ministry of Truth) (http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/02/tillerson-isis-russia-propaganda-241218)
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is resisting the pleas of State Department officials
to spend nearly $80 million allocated by Congress for fighting terrorist propaganda and Russian disinformation.
It is highly unusual for a Cabinet secretary to turn down money for his department.
But more than five months into his tenure, Tillerson has not issued a simple request
for the money earmarked for the State Department's Global Engagement Center,
$60 million of which is now parked at the Pentagon.
Another$19.8 million sits untouched at the State Department as Tillerson's aides
reject calls from career diplomats and members of Congress to put the money to work against America's adversaries.
The $60 million will expire on Sept. 30 if not transferred to State by then, current and former State Department officials told POLITICO.
(hahaha... Remember: It's now war. Pentagon v CIA + 'infested' State Dept )
The struggle over the money is a case study in Tillerson's approach to managing the State Department
and the frustration it is engendering among American diplomats.
Current and former U.S. officials call it the latest example of a severe slowdown in department decision-making;
of Tillerson's reliance on a coterie of political aides who distrust State's career staffers;
and a casualty of President Donald Trump's intention to slash State's budget...
and blah, blah blah... the whining continues.
Sources cited another sensitive factor at play: Russia.
moar blah blah...
........
A Pentagon spending bill signed into law by former President Barack Obama in December
broadened the center's mandate to include battling state-sponsored disinformation campaigns
by countries such as China, North Korea and Russia.
U.S. intelligence officials say Moscow used fake news reports and malicious Twitter accounts to influence the 2016 election,
and lawmakers in both parties have called for a more robust U.S. response.
(like building another tax funded propaganda machine...)
...the center also partners with the private sector to test novel ways to defeat false information spread by U.S. adversaries.
One project has employed guerrilla marketing tactics to place anti-terrorism videos in the Facebook feeds
of young people showing an interest in jihadi media.
"Over the last five to 10 years, there's been a tsunami of disinformation and anti-American propaganda around the world,"
"The Global Engagement Center is one of the few, if only, areas in the U.S. government that could be tasked with countering and rebutting disinformation against America."
The Kremlin-backed news outlet Sputnik has compared the Global Engagement Center to George Orwell's Ministry of Truth (https://sputniknews.com/us/201612271049048037-obama-ndaa-propaganda-agency/).
Current and former State Department officials are particularly mystified as to why, aside from the $60 million at the Pentagon,
the Global Engagement Center has also been denied access to $19.8 million
dedicated to fighting the messaging of the Islamic State and other terrorist groups.
That $19.8 million is in the State Department's coffers but has yet to be directed to the Global Engagement Center.
Observers say the dispute over the various funds reflects Tillerson aides
who distrust the State Department's foreign service and civil service employees,
believing them hostile to Trump's agenda.
"There's paranoia and inertia - decisions are not being made,"
said one State Department official familiar with funding squabble.
(It's not paranoia if someone is actually out to get you.
They may very well recognize the likelihood of the Global Engagement Center using the program
as another tool to rail against his presidency. Why fuel the fire? )