Home | China | World | Business Bush Says U.S. Will Not Lie on Defense Policy TUE, FEB 26, 2002     U.S. President George W. Bush pledged on Monday that Washington would not lie to Americans and the world on the nation's defense policy. Bush made the promise as he was asked by reporters at the White House whether he had instructed Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to close the Pentagon's new Office of Strategic Information, which reportedly might be used by the military to spread false information in both friendly and unfriendly countries in its war against terrorism. "I didn't even need to tell him this, he knows how I feel about this," Bush said. "We'll tell the American people the truth." Bush said the defense secretary was just as amazed as he was about reading some allegation that the U.S. government would not tell the American people the truth on the defense policy. After the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., the Pentagon has established the Office of Strategic Information to spearhead an information war overseas to influence public sentiment and policy makers in both friendly and unfriendly countries, the New York Times and other media reported last week. The new office is considering plans such as providing news items, possibly even false ones, to foreign media organizations, and having an outside organization distribute the information to hide its real source -- the Department of Defense, the reports said. Proponents say the new Pentagon office will bring much-needed coordination to the military's efforts to influence views of the United States overseas, particularly as Washington broadens the war on terrorism beyond Afghanistan. But it has also stirred criticism among defense officials and lawmakers who say the move might undermine the credibility of information that is openly distributed by the Defense Department's public affairs offices and mislead U.S. allies or even the public in U.S.. Rumsfeld has ordered the Pentagon to study whether the controversial office should be scrapped based on the growing concerns, Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said on Monday. "He has asked us to take a very hard look at it. And one of the questions, one of the issues raised was should it even exist," she told reporters in response to questions. The spokeswoman said Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith was studying whether the new office should be disbanded. Editor:Liu Hongji Source:Xinhua Recommend to your friend email:    China Central Television,All Rights Reserved