Pubdate: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 Source: Beacon Journal, The (OH) Copyright: 2002 The Beacon Journal Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/6 Author: Mike Plylar GOVERNMENT'S DECEIT IS NOTHING NEW Wasn't it a little disingenuous to feign shock at the President Bush's proposal for an Office of Strategic Influence ("Intelligence failure," Our Opinion, March 3), when the U.S. news media has even gone so far as to accept taxpayer's funding for publishing erroneous propaganda under the auspices of America's War on Drugs? Considering the decades-old policy of providing our citizens government-concocted "facts" to support the drug war, which, more often than not, fly in the face of science and common sense, how do we separate truth from fiction? With such a long history of deceit during the other war, how do we know when they're telling us the truth? One hopes Washington and the nation's press haven't squandered their credibility, crying wolf once too often during the drug war debacle, because these terrorists appear to be a real threat to our people. But then again, whom can we believe? Mike Plylar Kremmling, Colo. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom