Pentagon contractor paid Muslim scholars to assist with propaganda. It is nice to see that Islam is a cheap whore too.

The Lincoln Group, a Washington-based public relations company, was told early in 2005 by the Pentagon to identify religious leaders who could help produce messages that would persuade Sunnis in violence-ridden Anbar Province to participate in national elections and reject the insurgency, according to a former employee.

Since then, the company has retained three or four Sunni religious scholars to offer advice and write reports for military commanders on the content of propaganda campaigns, the former employee said. But documents and Lincoln executives say the 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.

I am a little tired and not really interested on climbing up on my high horse over this revelation. Besides to be honest, I am not surprised that we are using every means at our disposal to gain support in Iraq. All wars use propaganda. And while this instance seems particularly amateuristic, it is not unexpected.

I do have to lament the fact that this administration seems so adament in throwing money at every problem that it encounters. This is clearly the party of the wealthy that believes that all problems are just a "suitcase full of cash" away from being solved. I would like to hope that if we did the right thing in Iraq that we would enjoy the support of the people without having to buy them off. But that is just me.

(Okay that was just a "medium size horse" I was on there.)