And further down in the same piece:The U.S. military secretly paid Iraqi newspapers to plant favorable stories about its efforts to rebuild the country, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
The newspaper quoted unidentified officials as saying many of the stories in Iraqi newspapers are written by U.S. troops and while basically factual, sometimes give readers a slanted view of what is happening in Iraq. Some expressed fears that use of such stories could hurt the credibility of the U.S. military worldwide, the newspaper said.
The Times said documents it obtained showed Al Mutamar was paid about $50 to run a story with the headline "Iraqis Insist on Living Despite Terrorism" on Aug. 6.
Luay Baldawi, Al Mutamar's editor in chief, said the articles have come to him via the Internet and are often unsigned.
"We publish anything," he said. "The paper's policy is to publish everything, especially if it praises causes we believe in. We are pro- American. Everything that supports America we will publish."
(emphasis added by me)
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