Pentagon Investigates Psy-Ops Allegations

The Pentagon has begun investigating claims that one of its generals used psychological trickery to try to convince US lawmakers to support the Afghan war effort. (Read the earlier summary of the Rolling Stone expose here.) "The facts will take them where they lead," said a Pentagon spokesman, according to the Wall Street Journal. "It starts out as an investigation to determine the facts and circumstances." Gen. William Caldwell has denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, one of the senators supposedly subjected to the so-called psy-ops says it's news to him. “I didn’t feel anything unusual going on,” said Democrat Jack Reed, a member Armed Services Committee. Ditto for me, added Democrat Carl Levin of Michigan, who chairs the committee. In fact, he says he's pushed for the "opposite" of more US troops—the buildup of Afghan forces, notes Politico. (More Rolling Stone stories.)