Many Pentagon officials believe that efforts such as ASY are nothing more than "tax-payer-funded propaganda," ...

Pentagon Used Independent Military Newspaper For Pro-Bush PR Campaign | Posted by Amanda Terkel at 1:00 PM on October 23, 2007.

This post, written by Amanda Terkel, originally appeared on Think Progress

The Pentagon has engaged in an aggressive U.S. grassroots efforts to drum up support for Bush's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the guise of supporting the troops. A central front in this effort has been the "non-political" America Supports You (ASY) program. (One branch of ASY is Operation Straight Up, an "evangelical entertainment troupe that actively proselytizes among active-duty members of the US military.")

As the New York Times reported in May, the Pentagon Inspector General (IG) is currently investigating whether Pentagon officials "engaged in improper fund-raising and unauthorized spending" for the program. Many Pentagon officials believe that efforts such as ASY are nothing more than "tax-payer-funded propaganda," with a large portion of the funds going to the PR firm Susan Davis International to bolster domestic support for the war.

On Saturday, the independent military newspaper Stars and Stripes reported that it, too, is now part of the IG's investigation. Without the knowledge of top editors, the Pentagon transferred Stars and Stripes funds to Susan Davis International for ASY promotion:

But documents obtained Friday show that Stars and Stripes awarded a $499,000 purchase agreement in July 2006 for a public relations firm to represent America Supports You. [...] ...