Lincoln Group Work In Iraq "Completely Inept"

Submitted by Bob Burton on

O'Dwyers PR Daily reports that Bill Dixon and Laurie Adler, who handled PR for the Lincoln Group which gained notoriety for using Pentagon funds to plant news articles in Iraqi newspapers, have jumped ship. Dixon only started with the company in January while Adler served as the company's main spokesman. In the Columbia Journalism Review Daniel Schulman reports that a U.S. army officer, who helped select the company for contracts in Iraq, was scathing in his assessment of their work. "They were sending guys over there that had absolutely no knowledge of Iraqis whatsoever. ... It was a scheme written up on a cocktail napkin in D.C. They were just completely inept," the officer said.

Main Source: 
O'Dwyers PR Daily (sub req'd), May 2, 2006
Topics: 
Iraq
International
Propaganda
Public Relations
U.S. Government

Comments

Diane Farsetta replied on

O'Dwyer's has run [http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0504lincoln.htm a clarification] of its earlier Lincoln Group article:

[Lincoln Group co-founder Paige] Craig said the LG staffer who told O'Dwyer's that Bill Dixon has left his media relations post was wrong. "He is still with the company," said Craig.

Laurie Adler, whom Craig said handled internal marketing communications duties, has departed the firm.

The main subject of the follow-up article, though, is a Cinco de Mayo party being held by Paige Craig: "The invitation recalls how a French army invaded Mexico in 1862 to collect debt and contribute to the Confederate cause. ... LG's party is to celebrate freedom, liberty and the beginning of France's decline as a world power."

The article goes on to state:

Craig said LG has "changed its attitude," and is now more open with the press. Part of that reasoning is due to the confusion about what LG does. Craig described the firm as "client-driven," and the new transparency is what LG's clients want.