Pentagon reserves option to mislead enemy.

• Author: Book, Elizabeth G.
• Position: Washington Pulse - Foreign military policy - Interview

The Pentagon will "preserve our option to mislead the enemy about our operations," Douglas J. Feith, undersecretary of defense for policy, told a recent gathering of defense writers.

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld announced last month that the Office of Strategic Influence--created shortly after September 11--would be closed. That office had been caught in a firestorm of controversy, ostensibly because its mission--to coordinate the release of information about U.S. military overseas--also would have included the option of providing false information.

Feith denied that the Pentagon...