From WNYC in New York, this is NPR's On the Media.

I'm Brooke Gladstone.

And I'm Bob Garfield.

Once again this week, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was at pains to reassure the world

about the Pentagon's commitment to truth.

Government officials, the Department of Defense, this secretary, and the people that worked with me,

tell the American people and the people of the world the truth.

That promise set some eyes to rolling, considering the government's checkered history of deception

in the Vietnam War, for example, even though earlier in the century the government aired dramatizations

to inoculate the public against Nazi lies. Did you know this ground glass and all the surgical sponges in the century, the government aired dramatizations to inoculate the public against Nazi lies.

Did you know this ground glass and all the surgical sponges in the army?

Girls with needles under their nails, been working in the gas mask factories, and been puncturing the

masks. You know what I overheard at lunch? A ship with 5,000 bodies from Pearl Harbor arrived in

New York. What prompted Rumsfeld's declaration, though, was a fresh revelation.

According to the New York Times, the Pentagon, frustrated by America's poor showing in the propaganda war,

is considering a campaign in which it would plant false information in foreign newspapers.

Joining us to discuss such a scenario is Paul McMaster's,

First Amendment Ombudsman at the Freedom Forum. Paul, welcome to OTIM.

Thanks for having me.

Now, look, I've known you for many years, and I know I don't even have to interview you on this

subject. I'm just going to interrupt you periodically to squeeze some more lighter fluid on the

fire. The Defense Department

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