Who was the target of these Information Operations? Baker gives what may be an unintentionally revealing answer: Although the international press is an integral component of our IO effort, they were not our top media priority. While higher headquarters viewed U.S. and international media as their main media targets, our priority was more parochial: We regarded the Iraqi and Arab media as our main targets. Think about that for a moment: "higher headquarters viewed U.S. and international media as their main media targets." As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, blowback - the entry of foreign propaganda back into the American public realm - really was policy, not an unintended outcome. That Baker was more focused on the Iraqi realm is to his credit. That his superiors were not should be deeply troubling.
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