That’s right, it really is BS

From the “Too Good to be True” Files:

To the veteran watchers of the federal government, it is probably no surprise that there is a unit in the State Department with the acronym “OBS.” For the Bush Administration, though, there is not an agency of government better suited to carry out its core mission. The Center for American Progress has more:

OFFICE OF B.S.: The Office of Broadcasting Services is a branch of the State Department which traditionally has acted as a clearinghouse for video from news conferences. That all changed three years ago. In 2002, "with close editorial direction from the White House," the unit started producing fake news segments to back up President Bush's rationale for going to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. As one senior official told Congress, the phony segments were "powerful strategic tools" used to influence public opinion. In all, the office produced nearly 60 segments, which were then distributed around the world for local stations to use as actual news footage. Although the White House has claimed ignorance about the use of fake news, it was well aware this was happening. A White House memo in January 2003 actually said segments the State Department disseminated about the liberation of Afghan women were "a prime example" of how "White-House led efforts could facilitate strategic, proactive communications in the war on terror."

This past weekend, the New York Times published a rather startling expose of just how pervasive the Bush Administration’s use of covert propaganda really is.

Yes, for once, this name actually does tell you what the organization does.