Iraq Propaganda, Sunni Side Up with a Rubin

The New York Times reports that the Lincoln Group "has been compensating Sunni religious scholars in Iraq in return for assistance with its propaganda works ... [T]he company's ties to religious leaders and dozens of other prominent Iraqis is aimed also at enabling it to exercise influence in Iraqi communities on behalf of clients, including the military. ... Lincoln has also turned to American scholars and political consultants for advice on the content of the propaganda campaign in Iraq, records indicate. Michael Rubin, a Middle East scholar at the American Enterprise Institute ... said he had reviewed materials produced by the company. ... Mr. Rubin was quoted last month in The New York Times about Lincoln's work for the Pentagon placing articles in Iraqi publications: 'I'm not surprised this goes on,' he said, without disclosing his work for Lincoln." Rubin was political adviser for the Coalition Provisional Authority (Baghdad) following two years as staff assistant on Iran and Iraq in the Office of Special Plans in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.