Right Pundits

Reacting to a groundbreaking article by Rolling Stone, General Petraeus has ordered a Psy-Ops probe to look into the alleged use of U.S. military intelligence personnel to manipulate U.S. lawmakers. The military trains special teams to engage in psychological manipulation of the enemy. Get the full story with photos and video below!

The article alleges that a five-member team was ordered to engage a visiting contingent of VIPs from the U.S. and help push for more funding for the War on Terror. The group was said to include Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Al Franken, D-Minn., and Carl Levin, D-Mich. Rep. Steve Israel, D-NY.

Uncomfortable with using their military skills against U.S. leaders, the team resisted the orders and were punished by command. Lt. Colonel Michael Holmes, the leader of the unit targeted by General Petraeus’ psy ops probe

“My job in psy-ops is to play with people’s heads, to get the enemy to behave the way we want them to behave,” Holmes is quoted as saying. “When you ask me to try to use these skills on senators and congressman, you’re crossing a line.”

Holmes and his team allegedly resisted the order by their supervising officer Gen. William Caldwell, and were “subjected to a campaign of retaliation” by the military for their insubordination. The problem faced by investigators will be finding any solid evidence of foul-play. By its very nature, psychological manipulation leaves nothing in the way of a paper trail. The only rock hard order, according to the team’s members interviewed by Rolling Stone, was for them to draw up profiles on the visiting persons.

“It just depends on what it is they are doing. It’s the actions not just the assignment,” said Pentagon Spokesman Col. David Lapan. “It all depends on how the information is used. There is no blanket prohibition against having that information provided.”

It’s not uncommon for public relations officers to draw up a dossier on incoming VIPs. Still, there’s certainly something amiss when a highly-trained unit of psychological manipulation experts are ordered to complete this task. As for the personnel that actually made the visit, most were quick to deny that any manipulation had occurred.

“I never experienced anything unusual last year in contrast with my other visits,” said Senator Jack Reed.

What do you think of General Petraeus’ psy-ops probe? How would you define manipulation of U.S. personnel? Let me know your thoughts on it in the comment section after you check out pictures and video on the story below!

Photos: www.wenn.com/Official White House Photo by David Lienemann, Carrie Devorah