US plans to 'fight the net' revealed

January 27, 2006 3:29 PM

US plans to 'fight the net' revealed"Information intended for foreign audiences, including public diplomacy and Psyops, is increasingly consumed by our domestic audience," it reads. "Psyops messages will often be replayed by the news media for much larger audiences, including the American public," it goes on.
posted by Postroad (25 comments total)

that is a great photo of rumsfeld.
posted by unknowncommand at 3:36 PM on January 27, 2006

As long as I can shop at Wal Mart, have those in power make my choices and watch Survivor I'm happy. I need Soma though...
posted by alteredcarbon at 3:49 PM on January 27, 2006

Great FPP Rumsfeld.
posted by fire&wings at 3:52 PM on January 27, 2006

posted by kaseijin at 4:00 PM on January 27, 2006

The document's authors acknowledge that American news media should not unwittingly broadcast military propaganda. "Specific boundaries should be established," they write.

I guess that's because we have plenty of our own domestic propaganda. Don't want the two to get mixed up! Imagine the hilarity that would ensue...
posted by slogger at 4:05 PM on January 27, 2006

As long as I can shop at Wal Mart, have those in power make my choices and watch Survivor I'm happy. I need Soma though...

altered carbon wins the subtlety award!
posted by tweak at 4:11 PM on January 27, 2006

So I guess the summary of this document is: Don't trust the government.

I've been following that advice for decades.
posted by I Love Tacos at 4:25 PM on January 27, 2006

Fight the netpower!

(runs off to register fightthe.net ...)
posted by oncogenesis at 4:28 PM on January 27, 2006

Oh no! Our crappy security is allowing other people to see our secret stuff! We'd better prevent people from transmitting any information whatsoever!

ROUND ONE
FIGHT! THE NET
posted by jenovus at 4:33 PM on January 27, 2006

What would surprise me is if someone could produce a government document from any government in any period of history that reads, "We should seek to limit our influence on world affairs and technologies."

Not that this revelation isn't bad -- it's just, you know, expected.
posted by milquetoast at 4:37 PM on January 27, 2006

"We should seek to limit our influence on world affairs and technologies."
- yeah, to some degree if capitalism was really free trade, that'd be the mantra. Just let the thing run with a light hand.

"The US military seeks the capability to knock out every telephone, every networked computer, every radar system on the planet."

Got my car all ready for that.

posted by Smedleyman at 4:50 PM on January 27, 2006

(Snake Plisskin probably woulda been a better reference - but damn that car is cool).

The economic damage alone would be appaling - seriously - this kind of scenario is a doomsday scenario. I couldn't imagine what would legitimize it.
...I mean actually legitimize it as opposed to legitimize it in the minds of someone who didn't want to relinquish power.
posted by Smedleyman at 4:52 PM on January 27, 2006

once you're in a net, it's quite difficult to fight your way out.
posted by moonbird at 5:07 PM on January 27, 2006

Last of the V-8 Interceptors, mate!

Or is that from DeathRace2000?

Hey everyone! Stop. Watching. Television.

(at least cut it down to like, an hour a day)
posted by zoogleplex at 5:27 PM on January 27, 2006

Clearly this article should be an incitement to find ways to shield your personal communication devices against high-energy EMPs. The article seems to be leaning towards a doomsday scenario where they need to basically do a MAD plan, 'cept only with the electronics.

Start lead-plating your CB radios and WiFi hardware now!

Unless of course part of that goal is also some method of creating intolerable levels of interference on every public wavelength. :-(
posted by cellphone at 5:40 PM on January 27, 2006

I'm only gonna shield my iPod, my XBox, and my PS2. The Gamecube, I can lose that.

I doubt I'll be able to properly shield anything else, so I guess I'd better print out all my digital artwork on acid-free archival paper, huh?
posted by zoogleplex at 5:44 PM on January 27, 2006

Smedleyman writes "(Snake Plisskin probably woulda been a better reference - but damn that car is cool)."

Nothing is cooler than Snake.
posted by brundlefly at 6:12 PM on January 27, 2006

Nothing is cooler than Snake.

What about Snakes on a Plane?
posted by eriko at 7:46 PM on January 27, 2006

Quick question - would an EMP *erase* hard drives and other storage media (solid state stuff)? Or just damage the electrical mechanisms useless? The internet doesn't want to tell me, unless I'm not reading between the lines.
posted by loquax at 9:04 PM on January 27, 2006

"Fight the Net?" I realize the article only mentions a handful of details, but from those, this whole report seems like it's written by some mid-level staffer who really has no idea what the internet actually is, and doesn't care enough to even ask somebody.
posted by odinsdream at 10:08 PM on January 27, 2006

eriko writes "What about Snakes on a Plane?"

Snakes on a Plane is cool in that abstract, I-Don't-Need-The-Movie-The-Phrase-Is-Enough kind of way. Snake Plisskin is the physical embodiment of "cool."

You know that if Escape From New York didn't exist, we would have to invent Snake Plisskin.
posted by brundlefly at 10:37 PM on January 27, 2006

We have met the enemy and he is us.
posted by klarck at 6:32 AM on January 28, 2006

Fight the facts, before they get to the net.

The fight between Dr. Hansen and administration officials echoes other recent disputes. At climate laboratories of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, for example, many scientists who routinely took calls from reporters five years ago can now do so only if the interview is approved by administration officials in Washington, and then only if a public affairs officer is present or on the phone.

Where scientists' points of view on climate policy align with those of the administration, however, there are few signs of restrictions on extracurricular lectures or writing.
posted by Oyéah at 12:53 PM on January 28, 2006

They don't need to fight the net. They need to stop screwing the pooch.
posted by insomnia_lj at 12:54 PM on January 28, 2006

Can I get a cite for that, Oyéah? There are some people I'd like to pass it along to.
posted by hattifattener at 1:08 PM on January 29, 2006