The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan intends to order an investigation into whether a three-star general responsible for training Afghan security forces inappropriately used members of a psychological-operations team to sway visiting U.S. senators on providing more funding for the war.
The U.S. command in Kabul issued a statement Thursday saying Gen. David Petraeus “is preparing to order an investigation to determine the facts and circumstances surrounding the issue.”
The investigation stems from an article published Thursday on the website of Rolling Stone magazine alleging that Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, head of the U.S. and NATO training operation for Afghan forces, used an “information operations” team to “manipulate visiting American senators” and other visitors, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen.
The article is based on the claims of a lieutenant colonel who served on a psychological-operations team in Afghanistan last year and who alleges he was subject to retribution when he resisted the assignment.
A spokesman for Caldwell denied he had done anything improper. U.S. military officials in Afghanistan declined to comment on the matter, citing the impending probe.
Among the senators allegedly targeted by the team were John McCain, R-Ariz.; Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.; Jack Reed, D-R.I.; and Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Armed Services Committee. All four have been long-standing supporters of more funding for training Afghan security forces.
Levin said in a statement that he was “confident that the chain of command will review any allegation that information operations have been improperly used in Afghanistan.” But he also noted he did not need to be swayed on the matter of training.
“For years, I have strongly and repeatedly advocated for building up Afghan military capability because I believe only the Afghans can truly secure their nation’s future,” he said. “I have never needed any convincing on this point.”
The lieutenant colonel, Michael Holmes, who was assigned to Caldwell’s headquarters last year, said in the article that he was asked by the general’s chief of staff to find ways to manipulate the lawmakers. Holmes claims he was asked: “How do we get these guys to give us more people? What do I have to plant inside their heads?”
Holmes said he objected. “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 congressmen, you’re crossing a line.”
The article did not cite evidence of false or misleading information being provided to the senators and other visitors.
The U.S. command in Kabul has a team of officers who coordinate visits by members of Congress and other high-ranking officials. It is common for them to provide information to top commanders about the backgrounds and interests of the visitors. That work typically does not involve personnel in psychological or information operations.
Traditional lines between public-affairs personnel, who deal with the news media, and psychological-operations soldiers have blurred in Iraq and Afghanistan as commanders have sought ways to influence the local media and counter enemy propaganda. But the efforts of psy-ops teams are supposed to be dedicated exclusively toward foreign — not American — audiences.
Two military officials said the use of psychological-operations teams to influence Americans could violate U.S. military regulations, but the use of those personnel to perform other tasks, such as compiling information about visitors, probably is not inappropriate.
Reed told MSNBC on Thursday that the accusations were “very serious and disturbing.” McCain’s office declined to comment on the article.
