Joshua Marshall has a long and very depressing post on Iraq.

I personally am naive enough to be shocked by the following passage

"Meanwhile, the Pentagon is sponsoring a PR campaign by hand-picked Iraqi-Americans and former CPA officials who will be speaking at US military bases around the country. The memo sent out to base commanders says the presentations will be "designed to be uplifting accounts with good news messages" and that commanders should try to get local news coverage for the speeches since "these events and presentations are positive public relations opportunities.""

Marshall claims that the Pentagon has ordered military commanders to try to influence the discussion among civilians during an election campaign. I note that he doesn't explain what document he is quoting or how he obtained it and that the most shocking passage is a paraphrase. Given his track record, I trust Marshall absolutely. I think the political use of military commanders is a threat to democracy.