Caspian Basin: Pentagon Web Initiative Sparks Debate On Best Methods For Winning Hearts And Minds - Deirdre Tynan, eurasianet.org: "A US Defense Department Internet initiative is stoking a debate among experts about whether the Pentagon is overreaching. The $10.1 million Trans Regional Web Initiative (TRWI) aims to launch a series of language-specific websites, including Russian, Chinese, Farsi, Georgian, Armenian and Azeri.

The Pentagon in early September awarded the contract to build the new websites to General Dynamics Corp. The websites will feature news and analysis that helps garner support for US policies. Overall, the Defense Department wants to establish 12 websites within the year under TRWI’s auspices. … In the opinion of two legal experts -- Daniel Silverberg, counsel to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Col. Joseph Heimann, the Senior Appellate Judge on the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals -- the Pentagon web initiative has the potential to do damage to American public diplomacy. The TRWI initiative also rests on shaky legal ground, Silverberg and Heimann suggest. In a paper published in the summer of 2009, Silverberg and Heimann said the TRWI plan could blur the line between Department of Defense propaganda and Department of State public affairs initiatives in a way that benefits neither government agency."

http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insi...av092809a.shtml