Action Alert: Fire Lt. General William Caldwell!

I am truly shocked to learn that a Lt. General in the US Army ordered US troops to wage psychological warfare against US members of Congress.  There can be no justification for this act.  It’s a federal crime.  Lt. General Caldwell must face an immediate court martial and in depth investigations must be held by the Pentagon, the DOJ and Congress to determine the extent of the psy-ops, who authorized them, and the effect they have had in the formulation of US policy.

Lt. General William Caldwell needs to be fired. Now. General Caldwell, a three star general in charge of training Afghanistan troops allegedly ordered that the Army’s arsenal of psychological weapons of war be trained on Members of Congress and other “VIPs” in order to manipulate them into giving the Army more money and troops for its Afghanistan operation.

According to Rolling Stone, the head of an Army “Information Operations” unit in Afghanistan, Lt. Colonel Michael Holmes, has been under orders from Caldwell to find “pressure points” to use against the visiting Congressional delegations and secretly manipulate them without their knowledge. Holmes quoted the general’s Chief of Staff:  “What do I have to plant inside their heads?”

General Caldwell should face court marshal proceedings for violating his oath of office and US law. The Justice Department should launch an immediate investigation to determine just how widespread this propaganda operation is and how high up the chain of command it goes. Congress should act immediately as well. The House and Senate Armed Services Committees should schedule public hearings and the investigative arms of both houses, as well as the General Accounting Office, should launch investigations.

This latest Rolling Stone bombshell needs all the attention that the Obama administration and the Congress gave reporter Michael Hastings’ last story on an out-of-control General, Stanly McChrystal. This is worse. General McChrystal was guilty of frat boy style insubordination. Lt. General Caldwell, and whoever else was involved in this outrage, was attempting a form of military coup by attacking elected civilian leaders through psychological warfare. If you are frustrated by civilian control over your military, take them out. In this case the weapon of choice was the arsenal available to them by the Army’s psychological warfare operation…

…You can also see this dynamic at play in Bob Woodward’s account of President Obama’s “war” with the Pentagon when he was formulating his Afghanistan strategy. According to “Obama’s Wars”, the President was incensed and frustrated by generals who would only provide him with options that were anything but.  As Woodward put it, “This was a contest that pitted the president against the military establishment.” The contest ended with the announcement of a significant escalation of US forces in Afghanistan…  [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Alternet>

Lawrence O’Donnell discusses the matter with Michael Hastings, the reporter who broke the story.

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I can understand Franks’ bluster.  Perhaps he is less vulnerable to psychological warfare, because as a Democrat, he’s more used to thinking for himself.

Tell President Obama not to sweep this under the rug.  Call the White House switchboard at 202-456-1414 or to leave a message call 202-456-1111.