Incredible story from Rolling Stone and covered on DemocracyNow! yesterday (watch the segment here).

In short, the Rendon Group, a public relations firm in Washington D.C., through contracts with the CIA and the Pentagon was heavily involved in and largely responsible for the success of 'selling' the need for the U.S. to invade Iraq.

In fact, according to the article, even the organization of the supposedly grassroots and self-organized Iraqi National Congress - an umbrella group of dissident Iraqis, headed by none other than Ahmad Chalabi (then receiving a salary by the CIA) was done by the Rendon Group.

The details and extent of the relationship of various arms of the U.S. Government with this public relations firm is hardly able to be believed.

One of my reactions to all this is to promote the following federal legislation: that it be illegal for any department or person of or working for the U.S. Federal government to make any contracts with or employ any public relations firm, or media or public perception management experts, and the like.

The government itself should not be in the business of hiring experts to manipulate public opinion through corporate owned, willing media.

It should be illegal.