Iraq & Afghanistan Embedded Journalists Were Screened by Rendon Group

The group that sold Americans on Iraq's non-existent WMD's, also decides if journalists are qualified to cover war.

Tim King in Iraq Photo by Ryan Ahern

(SALEM, Ore.) - The idea of embedding reporters and photographers in the military war theaters accelerated during the Bush years, offering journalists a mixed bag of access and varying restrictions.

Tim King in Kabul, Afghanistan

New information reveals that embedded journalists have been screened and cleared for war reporting by a highly criticized Washington-based public relations firm.

The Rendon group is the same organization that helped create the Iraqi National Congress, an opposition group, reportedly funded by the CIA, that provided much of the false information about Iraq’s supposed weapons of mass destruction; data that the Bush administration used to justify the Iraq invasion.

Stars and Stripes reports that Pentagon officials use the screenings to decide whether the journalist's past coverage portrayed the U.S. military in a positive way.

I'm no expert on the subject, but I have embedded in both Afghanistan and Iraq with U.S. military units as a correspondent and photojournalist, and I think I have seen at least some of the best and worst case scenarios.

Still, even after the bio-metric body scans, endless background checks, waiting periods and piles of paperwork, I had no idea that a private company was being paid $1.5 million a year to build dossiers on us.

According to Democracy Now, "Rendon examines individual reporters’ recent work and determines whether the coverage was 'positive,' 'negative' or 'neutral' compared to mission objectives, according to Rendon officials. It conducts similar analysis of general reporting trends about the war for the military and has been contracted for such work since 2005, according to the company."

Speaking for the U.S. government, Air Force Capt. Elizabeth Mathias in Kabul, Afghanistan said, "We have not denied access to anyone because of what may or may not come out of their biography." She added, "It’s so we know with whom we’re working."

It all came to a head about two months ago in Iraq, when a Stars and Stripes reporter was barred from embedding with a unit of the 1st Cavalry Division because the reporter "refused to highlight" positive news that military commanders wanted to see emphasized.

DemocracyNow reports that professional groups representing journalists are decrying the Pentagon’s screening of reporters.

I think most of us would agree with that. The truth is often viewed as a left wing plot and when it comes to Iraq, it is hard to find some of the better news. There are positive things happening however, if reporters are able to connect with them. (see: Marine Corps, Jordan and Israel Offer Hope for Iraqi Child Heart Patients (VIDEO) - Tim King Salem-News.com)

In spite of that, I personally believe I found it in both wars, and I also found myself in a helicopter one night forced to witness the abuse of Iraqi detainees (prisoners, bound and hooded) for approximately two hours on a flight out of Fallujah. (see: A Disturbing Night in Iraq: Witnessing the Abuse of 'Insurgent' Prisoners - Tim King Salem-News.com)

In Iraq I made my own plans, called units for embed approval, and hitched rides on fixed wing planes and helicopters to find my way where I was going. In Afghanistan I was constantly escorted by the unit I was embedded with, and yet offered basically free reign in terms of photography.

I had more liberty in terms of moving around in Iraq, but less freedom in terms of what I could photograph. In Kuwait, prior to arriving in Iraq, I photographed unit insignias on walls and ended up having Army investigators track my down for "unauthorized photography".

In the DemocracyNow.org newscast below from Friday, August 28th 2009, Tim King's image is featured just after 18:30.