Rendon Group
Encyclopedia
The Rendon Group is a public relations
and propaganda
firm headed by John Rendon which specializes in providing communications services both nationally and internationally. The Rendon Group website states, “For nearly three decades, The Rendon Group has been providing innovative global strategic communications solutions from our headquarters in Washington, DC. TRG utilizes state-of-the-art technology as well as traditional public relations tools, assisting leading commercial, government and military organizations.” In a 1998 speech to the National Security Conference (NSC), company founder John Rendon described himself as "an information warrior, and a perception manager." James Bamford of Rolling Stone describes him as "The man who sold the [Iraq] war.
's gubernatorial campaign in 1974; worked as executive director of the Democratic National Committee in the Jimmy Carter
era; managed the 1980 Democratic convention in New York
; and subsequently worked as chief scheduler for Carter's reelection campaign." In the mid-1980s, however, he began working for clients in the Caribbean and other places outside the United States. "[His] career took an unlikely turn in Panama, where his work with political opponents of Manuel Noriega
kept him in the country straight through the 1989 American invasion
. As U.S. forces quickly invaded and quickly pulled out, he helped broker the transition of power." This in turn led to contacts with the CIA, and in 1990 the government-in-exile of Kuwait
hired him to help drum up support for war in the Persian Gulf to oust Iraq's occupying army.
reported in 2001, "The Rendon Group's website states that during the Gulf War
, it 'established a full-scale communications operation for the Government of Kuwait, including the establishment of a production studio in London producing programming material for the exiled Kuwaiti Television.' Rendon also provided media support for exiled government leaders and helped Kuwaiti officials after the war by 'providing press and site advance to incoming congressional delegations and other visiting US government officials.' Several of Rendon's non-governmental clients also have headquarters in Kuwait: Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Kuwait University, American Housing Consortium, American Business Council of Kuwait, and KPMY/Peat Marwick.
The Rendon Group's work in Kuwait continued after the war itself had ended. 'If any of you either participated in the liberation of Kuwait City ... or if you watched it on television, you would have seen hundreds of Kuwaitis waving small American flags,' John Rendon said in his speech to the NSC. 'Did you ever stop to wonder how the people of Kuwait City, after being held hostage for seven long and painful months, were able to get hand-held American flags? And for that matter, the flags of other coalition countries? Well, you now know the answer. That was one of my jobs.'"
air operations directed at Serbian targets to prevent genocide against Kosovo Moslems
, it became immediately apparent that the coalition's message was not reaching audiences in the region that were being bombarded by Slobodan Milosevic
's information ministry's propaganda. The Rendon Group established the Balkan Information Exchange under contract with U.S. European Command in seven languages including Serbo-Croatian
. A different company administers the site today in a ten-language format as the Southeast European Times
.
According to a Harvard graduate student from Iraq who helped translate some of the radio broadcasts into Arabic, the program was poorly run. "No one in-house spoke a word of Arabic," he says. "They thought I was mocking Saddam, but for all they knew I could have been lambasting the US government." The scripts, he adds, were often ill conceived. "Who in Iraq is going to think it's funny to poke fun at Saddam's mustache," the student notes, "when the vast majority of Iraqi men themselves have mustaches?"
Franklin Foer reported in The New Republic
that Rendon has been dogged throughout his career "by complaints of profligate spending—even charged with being the PR equivalent of the Pentagon's $400 toilet seat
. In 1995 CIA accountants demanded an audit of his work. As ABC reported in 1998, Rendon's own records show he spent more than $23 million in the first year of his contract to work with the INC. Several of his operatives in London earned more than the director of Central Intelligence—about $19,000 per month. Rendon shot across the Atlantic on the Concorde
, while his subordinates flew on open business-class tickets. According to one of those subordinates, 'There was no incentive for Rendon to hold down costs.'” The Agency's inspector general found no evidence of fraud.
Writing in the New Yorker
, Seymour Hersh
said the Rendon Group was "paid close to a hundred million dollars by the CIA" for its work with the INC." Journalist James Bamford
reported in the Rolling Stone
that Rendon came up with the name for the INC and helped install Ahmad Chalabi as its head. Francis Brooke, adviser to Ahmed Chalabi and former employee of The Rendon Group said, “Those arguments are false. Mr. Rendon was a consultant. The Iraqi National Congress was founded independently by Dr. Chalabi, and Mr. Rendon provided consulting services during that period.”
The Rendon Group replied on its website to Mr. Bamford’s article, saying, “For the record, the Rendon Group (TRG) had no role whatsoever in making the case for the Iraq war, here at home or internationally. Mr. Bamford's contention to the contrary is flatly untrue. TRG reviews open source media reports for the Department of Defense and analyzes and charts positive and negative trends very much the same way public opinion researchers analyze polling data. Unable to find facts that support his thesis, Mr. Bamford relies on false information and mischaracterization to create his story.” The post goes on to address numerous factual errors in Bamford’s article.
The New York Times reported in February 2002 that the Pentagon was consulting the Rendon Group to assist its new information operations agency, the Office of Strategic Influence
(OSI) Of which it only consulted The Rendon Group. However, the OSI was publicly disbanded following a backlash when Pentagon officials said the new office would engage in "black" disinformation campaigns of which The Rendon Group was not part.
In December, 2005, the Chicago Tribune reported that the Rendon Group received $1.4 million in 2004 to help Afghan President Hamid Karzai
with media relations. According to the paper, after seven months Karzai and Zalmay Khalilzad
, then the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, were ready to get rid of the company. Despite the lack of support from Karzai and the ambassador, the company received another $3.9 million funded by the Pentagon to create a media team for anti-drug programs. The article quoted Jeff Raleigh, who helped oversee Rendon in Kabul for the U.S. Embassy, as saying the contract was "a rip-off of the U.S taxpayer". Later Jeff Raleigh's Afghan supervisor said Jeff wanted full control of The Rendon Group and was out of his bound. Furthermore the same official, Ambassador Daod, in a signed letter said that The Rendon Group did a great job and really helped his office. Advocates say Rendon helps fight propaganda from Islamic fundamentalists. Critics say the Pentagon's use of media firms such as Rendon blurs the line between public relations and propaganda.
In late August 2009 Stars and Stripes
reported that the Rendon Group had been employed by the United States Department of Defense
to profile journalists who wrote about the war on terror.
Stars and Stripes reported that Rendon's profiles included recommendations on how to "neutralize" coverage the DoD would regard as negative.
According to the General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists
, Aidan White:
However, the military said it did not use the ratings to manipulate coverage or deny reporters access to cover the war. Following the criticism the Department of Defense terminated Rendon Group's contract, saying, "The Bagram Regional Contracting Center intends to execute a termination of the media analyst contract ... for the convenience of the U.S. government," military spokeswoman Lieutenant Commander Christine Sidenstricker said. The contract was not canceled due to fault on behalf of The Rendon Group.
The Rendon Group issued a press release correcting factual inaccuracies in reporting, “The Rendon Group has not screened, made decisions or recommendations with regard to who the military did or did not permit to conduct interviews or allow to embed. We assumed any reporters we were asked to research would be interviewing or embedding with the US Military. Apparently, as the USA Today pointed out, of the 143 requests to the 101st Airborne Division, only two were denied. Reportedly, the denials by the US Military were for inaccuracy and release of classified information, and both of those media outlets were later accepted. There is no evidence to support a charge that we directly or indirectly screened or contributed to the creation of a blacklist.
“Background information of the sort we provided is both appropriate and routine for any sophisticated subject of media coverage, and particularly where the mission includes earning and retaining the hearts and minds of the local populace and maintaining the support of the international community, failing to measure the effectiveness of one's past efforts and statements undermines the mission.”
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
and propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
firm headed by John Rendon which specializes in providing communications services both nationally and internationally. The Rendon Group website states, “For nearly three decades, The Rendon Group has been providing innovative global strategic communications solutions from our headquarters in Washington, DC. TRG utilizes state-of-the-art technology as well as traditional public relations tools, assisting leading commercial, government and military organizations.” In a 1998 speech to the National Security Conference (NSC), company founder John Rendon described himself as "an information warrior, and a perception manager." James Bamford of Rolling Stone describes him as "The man who sold the [Iraq] war.
History
John Rendon began his career as an election campaign consultant to Democratic Party politicians. According to the New Republic's Franklin Foer, "He masterminded Michael DukakisMichael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
's gubernatorial campaign in 1974; worked as executive director of the Democratic National Committee in the Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
era; managed the 1980 Democratic convention in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
; and subsequently worked as chief scheduler for Carter's reelection campaign." In the mid-1980s, however, he began working for clients in the Caribbean and other places outside the United States. "[His] career took an unlikely turn in Panama, where his work with political opponents of Manuel Noriega
Manuel Noriega
Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno is a Panamanian politician and soldier. He was military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989.The 1989 invasion of Panama by the United States removed him from power; he was captured, detained as a prisoner of war, and flown to the United States. Noriega was tried on...
kept him in the country straight through the 1989 American invasion
United States invasion of Panama
The United States Invasion of Panama, code-named Operation Just Cause, was the invasion of Panama by the United States in December 1989. It occurred during the administration of U.S. President George H. W...
. As U.S. forces quickly invaded and quickly pulled out, he helped broker the transition of power." This in turn led to contacts with the CIA, and in 1990 the government-in-exile of Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
hired him to help drum up support for war in the Persian Gulf to oust Iraq's occupying army.
Kuwait
PR WatchPR Watch
PR Watch is a web site, and until 2008 a quarterly newsletter, whose stated mission is to expose deceptive and misleading public relations campaigns. It particularly covers US environmental issues, but also covers topics ranging from labor rights to world affairs...
reported in 2001, "The Rendon Group's website states that during the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, it 'established a full-scale communications operation for the Government of Kuwait, including the establishment of a production studio in London producing programming material for the exiled Kuwaiti Television.' Rendon also provided media support for exiled government leaders and helped Kuwaiti officials after the war by 'providing press and site advance to incoming congressional delegations and other visiting US government officials.' Several of Rendon's non-governmental clients also have headquarters in Kuwait: Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Kuwait University, American Housing Consortium, American Business Council of Kuwait, and KPMY/Peat Marwick.
The Rendon Group's work in Kuwait continued after the war itself had ended. 'If any of you either participated in the liberation of Kuwait City ... or if you watched it on television, you would have seen hundreds of Kuwaitis waving small American flags,' John Rendon said in his speech to the NSC. 'Did you ever stop to wonder how the people of Kuwait City, after being held hostage for seven long and painful months, were able to get hand-held American flags? And for that matter, the flags of other coalition countries? Well, you now know the answer. That was one of my jobs.'"
Kosovo
When NATO initiated Operation NOBLE ANVIL1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...
air operations directed at Serbian targets to prevent genocide against Kosovo Moslems
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
, it became immediately apparent that the coalition's message was not reaching audiences in the region that were being bombarded by Slobodan Milosevic
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
's information ministry's propaganda. The Rendon Group established the Balkan Information Exchange under contract with U.S. European Command in seven languages including Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
. A different company administers the site today in a ten-language format as the Southeast European Times
Southeast European Times
Southeast European Times is a United States European Command-sponsored news website dedicated to coverage of Southeast Europe and Turkey. The countries covered include Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and TurkeyThe primary address of...
.
Iraq
According to PR Watch,According to a Harvard graduate student from Iraq who helped translate some of the radio broadcasts into Arabic, the program was poorly run. "No one in-house spoke a word of Arabic," he says. "They thought I was mocking Saddam, but for all they knew I could have been lambasting the US government." The scripts, he adds, were often ill conceived. "Who in Iraq is going to think it's funny to poke fun at Saddam's mustache," the student notes, "when the vast majority of Iraqi men themselves have mustaches?"
Franklin Foer reported in The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
that Rendon has been dogged throughout his career "by complaints of profligate spending—even charged with being the PR equivalent of the Pentagon's $400 toilet seat
Toilet seat
A toilet seat is a hinged unit consisting of seat and lid which is bolted onto a toilet bowl for a flush toilet. A toilet seat consists of the seat itself, which may be contoured for the user to sit on, and the lid, which covers the toilet when it is not in use.If the toilet is located in a home...
. In 1995 CIA accountants demanded an audit of his work. As ABC reported in 1998, Rendon's own records show he spent more than $23 million in the first year of his contract to work with the INC. Several of his operatives in London earned more than the director of Central Intelligence—about $19,000 per month. Rendon shot across the Atlantic on the Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
, while his subordinates flew on open business-class tickets. According to one of those subordinates, 'There was no incentive for Rendon to hold down costs.'” The Agency's inspector general found no evidence of fraud.
Writing in the New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, Seymour Hersh
Seymour Hersh
Seymour Myron Hersh is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and author based in Washington, D.C. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine on military and security matters...
said the Rendon Group was "paid close to a hundred million dollars by the CIA" for its work with the INC." Journalist James Bamford
James Bamford
V. James Bamford is an American bestselling author and journalist who writes about United States intelligence agencies, most notably the National Security Agency.-Biography:...
reported in the Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
that Rendon came up with the name for the INC and helped install Ahmad Chalabi as its head. Francis Brooke, adviser to Ahmed Chalabi and former employee of The Rendon Group said, “Those arguments are false. Mr. Rendon was a consultant. The Iraqi National Congress was founded independently by Dr. Chalabi, and Mr. Rendon provided consulting services during that period.”
The Rendon Group replied on its website to Mr. Bamford’s article, saying, “For the record, the Rendon Group (TRG) had no role whatsoever in making the case for the Iraq war, here at home or internationally. Mr. Bamford's contention to the contrary is flatly untrue. TRG reviews open source media reports for the Department of Defense and analyzes and charts positive and negative trends very much the same way public opinion researchers analyze polling data. Unable to find facts that support his thesis, Mr. Bamford relies on false information and mischaracterization to create his story.” The post goes on to address numerous factual errors in Bamford’s article.
Afghanistan
The San Jose Mercury News reported in October 2001 that the Pentagon had awarded Rendon a four-month, $397,000 contract to handle PR aspects of U.S. military strikes in Afghanistan. Rendon and Pentagon officials declined to discuss details of the firm's work, which included monitoring international news media, conducting focus groups and recommending "ways the US military can counter disinformation and improve its own public communications." All of which can be found in public Contracts between The Rendon Group and the Department of Defense.The New York Times reported in February 2002 that the Pentagon was consulting the Rendon Group to assist its new information operations agency, the Office of Strategic Influence
Office of Strategic Influence
The Office of Strategic Influence, or OSI, was a department created by the United States Department of Defense on October 30, 2001, to support the War on Terrorism through psychological operations in targeted countries, including the United States...
(OSI) Of which it only consulted The Rendon Group. However, the OSI was publicly disbanded following a backlash when Pentagon officials said the new office would engage in "black" disinformation campaigns of which The Rendon Group was not part.
In December, 2005, the Chicago Tribune reported that the Rendon Group received $1.4 million in 2004 to help Afghan President Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
with media relations. According to the paper, after seven months Karzai and Zalmay Khalilzad
Zalmay Khalilzad
Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad is a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and president of Khalilzad Associates, an international business consulting firm based in Washington, DC. He was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush...
, then the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, were ready to get rid of the company. Despite the lack of support from Karzai and the ambassador, the company received another $3.9 million funded by the Pentagon to create a media team for anti-drug programs. The article quoted Jeff Raleigh, who helped oversee Rendon in Kabul for the U.S. Embassy, as saying the contract was "a rip-off of the U.S taxpayer". Later Jeff Raleigh's Afghan supervisor said Jeff wanted full control of The Rendon Group and was out of his bound. Furthermore the same official, Ambassador Daod, in a signed letter said that The Rendon Group did a great job and really helped his office. Advocates say Rendon helps fight propaganda from Islamic fundamentalists. Critics say the Pentagon's use of media firms such as Rendon blurs the line between public relations and propaganda.
In late August 2009 Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes (newspaper)
Stars and Stripes is a news source that operates from inside the United States Department of Defense but is editorially separate from it. The First Amendment protection which Stars and Stripes enjoys is safeguarded by Congress to whom an independent ombudsman, who serves the readers' interests,...
reported that the Rendon Group had been employed by the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
to profile journalists who wrote about the war on terror.
Stars and Stripes reported that Rendon's profiles included recommendations on how to "neutralize" coverage the DoD would regard as negative.
According to the General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists
International Federation of Journalists
International Federation of Journalists, IFJ, is a global union federation of journalists' trade unions—the largest in the world. The organization aims to protect and strengthen the rights and freedoms of journalists...
, Aidan White:
However, the military said it did not use the ratings to manipulate coverage or deny reporters access to cover the war. Following the criticism the Department of Defense terminated Rendon Group's contract, saying, "The Bagram Regional Contracting Center intends to execute a termination of the media analyst contract ... for the convenience of the U.S. government," military spokeswoman Lieutenant Commander Christine Sidenstricker said. The contract was not canceled due to fault on behalf of The Rendon Group.
The Rendon Group issued a press release correcting factual inaccuracies in reporting, “The Rendon Group has not screened, made decisions or recommendations with regard to who the military did or did not permit to conduct interviews or allow to embed. We assumed any reporters we were asked to research would be interviewing or embedding with the US Military. Apparently, as the USA Today pointed out, of the 143 requests to the 101st Airborne Division, only two were denied. Reportedly, the denials by the US Military were for inaccuracy and release of classified information, and both of those media outlets were later accepted. There is no evidence to support a charge that we directly or indirectly screened or contributed to the creation of a blacklist.
“Background information of the sort we provided is both appropriate and routine for any sophisticated subject of media coverage, and particularly where the mission includes earning and retaining the hearts and minds of the local populace and maintaining the support of the international community, failing to measure the effectiveness of one's past efforts and statements undermines the mission.”
Personnel
- John Rendon, founder and CEO.
- Linda Flohr, a CIA covert operations veteran, has worked for the Rendon Group for many years.
- Francis Brooke worked with The Rendon Group in the mid-1990s. He subsequently became the chief assistant in Washington to Ahmed ChalabiAhmed ChalabiAhmed Abdel Hadi Chalabi is an Iraqi politician. He was interim oil minister in Iraq in April-May 2005 and December-January 2006 and deputy prime minister from May 2005 until May 2006. Chalabi failed to win a seat in parliament in the December 2005 elections, and when the new Iraqi cabinet was...
, head of the Iraqi National CongressIraqi National CongressThe Iraqi National Congress is an umbrella Iraqi opposition group led by Ahmed Chalabi. It was formed with the aid and direction of the United States government following the Gulf War, for the purpose of fomenting the overthrow of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.-History:INC was set up following the...
. - Paul MoranPaul Moran (photojournalist)Paul Moran , born as the youngest of four children in Adelaide, was a freelance photojournalist, the first media person killed in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq....
(1963–2003) was a journalist who had formerly worked with The Rendon Group on its contracts in Iraq.
External links
- Rendon Group Official firm website.