The Nation : Report Cites Covert Contra Propaganda

A House staff report concluded that a propaganda campaign supporting President Reagan’s Central America policies was run by CIA covert operations specialists, along with military experts in intelligence and psychological operations. These experts conspired with National Security Council staffers to use the State Department’s obscure Office of Public Diplomacy for Latin America and the Caribbean as a cover for the propaganda operation, according to the House Foreign Affairs Committee staff. The staff said operatives ranged far beyond the legal and ethical scope of their authority, but it did not mention specific laws or regulations that were violated. The effort involved tactics ranging from lobbying to win congressional approval for renewed military aid to the Nicaraguan Contras to planting favorable articles in the press, the report said.