Pentagon admits providing news articles

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Pentagon officials have acknowledged that articles written by military press officers had been placed in Iraqi newspapers.

U.S. Sen. John Warner, R-Va. -- chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee -- told reporters after a briefing with Pentagon officials Friday that nothing in the articles appeared to be false, the New York Times reported. But he said only some of the articles carried a disclaimer explaining their source.

The articles were written by military personnel in Iraq and translated into Arabic by the Lincoln Group, a Washington public relations firm.

Warner said he was concerned the practice could hurt U.S. credibility in Iraq and damage Iraq's effort to develop democratic institutions, including a free press. The Pentagon has also acknowledged paying friendly Iraqi journalists.

Democrats were even more critical.

"The Pentagon's devious scheme to place favorable propaganda in Iraqi newspapers speaks volumes about the president's credibility gap," said Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts. "If Americans were truly welcomed in Iraq as liberators, we wouldn't have to doctor the news for the Iraqi people."