Top Military Officer Accused of Deploying Psy-Ops Against U.S. Lawmakers

Feb. 24, 2011— -- A top U.S. military officer in Afghanistan is under scrutiny for allegedly ordering the illegal use of "psychological operations" against American dignitaries during official visits to the country last year.

Among the visiting officials who may have been targeted by "psy-ops" was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. Mike Mullen.

Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, who heads the effort to train Afghan forces, instructed subordinates to use tactics reserved exclusively to target the enemy, sources familiar with the situation told Rolling Stone magazine.

Caldwell reportedly sought to pressure U.S. senators and congressmen and other VIPs to provide more troops and funding for the war.

Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said he was preparing to open an investigation "to determine the facts and circumstances surrounding the issue."

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in a statement that he supports Petraeus' decision, and cautioned against reaching conclusions about Caldwell's behavior before the Pentagon had established the facts.

Caldwell "categorically denies" the allegations, a spokesman told Rolling Stone.

The magazine report is based largely on the account of a reservist with the Texas National Guard, Lt. Colonel Michael Holmes, who lead the information operations unit in Kabul.

"My job in psy-ops is to play with people's heads, to get the enemy to behave the way we want them to behave," Holmes is quoted as saying. "I'm prohibited from doing that to our own people. When you ask me to try to use these skills on senators and congressmen, you're crossing a line."

Holmes said he was told to focus exclusively on a "deeper analysis of pressure points we could use to leverage the delegation for more funds."

The so-called "IO" unit compiled detailed research on the backgrounds of visiting dignitaries and honed Caldwell's presentations to be as compelling as possible, according to Holmes, who says he tried to resist Caldwell's orders and later reported them to superiors.

Federal law prohibits government use of propaganda techniques, including psychological tactics, on U.S. citizens.