CNN employed active duty U.S. Army psychological operations personnel

last year, WorldNetDaily has confirmed through several sources at Fort

Bragg and elsewhere.

Maj. Thomas Collins, U.S. Information Service has confirmed that

"psyops" (psychological operations) personnel, soldiers and officers,

have worked in the CNN headquarters in Atlanta. The lend/lease exercise

was part of an Army program called "Training With Industry." According

to Collins, the soldiers and officers, "... worked as regular employees

of CNN. Conceivably, they would have worked on stories during the Kosovo

war. They helped in the production of news."

When asked if the introduction of military personnel into a civilian

news organization was standard operating procedure, one source said,

"That question is above my pay grade ... but I hope so. It's what we

do."

The CNN military personnel were members of the Airmobile Fourth

Psychological Operations Group, stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

One of the main tasks of this group of almost 1200 soldiers and officers

is to spread 'selected information.' Critics say that means

dissemination of propaganda.

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Cable News Network suffered a major embarrassment in the wake of the

'Tailwind' story it aired, alleging the U.S. government used lethal

sarin gas to kill suspected defectors during the Vietnam war. After

WorldNetDaily was the first news organization to expose the fraudulent

news production,

two CNN producers were fired and, eventually, CNN veteran reporter Peter

Arnett also was ousted. In that case, Retired Air Force Maj. Gen.

Perry Smith quit his long-time job as a military adviser to CNN.

What about now? Has the U.S. military been in a position to have

influenced directly CNN's news reports about the crisis in Kosovo?

Collins claims a "handful" of military assets were assigned to CNN

for weeks "to get to know the company and to broaden their horizons."

The Major asserts "they didn't work under the control of the army."

Several sources have confirmed the temporary outplacement of U.S.

Army psyops personnel started two or three years ago, and they have been

integrated into "various sectors of society." The assignment durations

have been short-term up to one full year, depending on the mission.

When asked, "What were the missions?" responses to WND varied from "No

comment.", "... need to know," to smiles, and, in one case, an obscene

recommendation.

CNN is the most watched and widely viewed news outlet in the world.

During Operation Desert Storm, Saddam Hussein regularly watched CNN for

battlefield intelligence. The symbiotic, intimate relationship between

CNN and army psyops specialists has raised many eyebrows, with critics

saying it raises doubts about CNN's journalistic integrity and

independence.

The Fourth Psyop Group has been involved in the Gulf War, the Bosnian

War and the Kosovo crisis. American psyops troops attempt to influence

media and public opinion in armed conflicts in which American state

interests are said to be at stake.

News coverage of the war in Kosovo, by CNN and other media, has been

criticized as "one-sided, overly emotional, over-simplified and relying

too heavily on NATO officials," observed a report from the Netherlands.

CNN has not thus far commented officially on the allegations. Megan

Mahoney, a CNN spokeswoman recently said, "I don't believe that we would

employ military personnel; it doesn't seem like something we would

normally do." However, now that the U.S. Army Information Service has

confirmed the news, Mahoney said she would have to contact CNN's senior

officials.

Geoff Metcalf is a staff

reporter for WorldNetDaily.