The Lacuna Project

lacuna (n.) a gap in a record where something should be

Independent research. Not affiliated with any government, agency, or company.

Exhibit 856

Defense Department News Briefing, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld (excerpts on the Office of Strategic Influence)

Exhibit 856 ยท Press briefing transcript

Defense Department News Briefing, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld (excerpts on the Office of Strategic Influence)

he has decided to close down the Office of Strategic Influence.

Rumsfeld announces that Under Secretary Douglas Feith has decided to close the Office of Strategic Influence, says the office could not function after the criticism, says the department does not do disinformation and has not developed a charter for the office, and says influence activities (leaflets, radio broadcasts, information operations) will continue in other offices.

Source
U.S. Department of Defense
Date
26 February 2002
Quoted from
Rumsfeld, answer to first question (FAS reproduction of the DOD transcript)
Grade
Primary record
Document
https://sgp.fas.org/news/2002/02/dod022602.html
Accessed
2026-11-09
Cited by
Findings citing this exhibit

Cited by

Finding POL-7.5
Primary record On 26 February 2002 Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced that Under Secretary Douglas Feith had decided to close the Office of Strategic Influence, said the office had not developed a charter, and answered "It most clearly is not" when asked whether disinformation was among its activities.