WASHINGTON – The military is investigating charges that an army unit trained in psychological operations was improperly told to manipulate American senators to get more money and troops for the war.

The staff of Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, head of the effort to train Afghan security forces, reportedly ordered the “psy-ops” unit to compile profiles, voting records and other information on visiting lawmakers to leverage in a campaign to get more assistance, said a story Thursday on Rolling Stone’s website. It says the campaign also improperly targeted the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, and others.

Additional Photos

U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., left, walks with Sen. John McCain at the Kabul airport in December 2008. Lieberman and McCain were among the senators allegedly targeted for manipulation by “psy-ops” units in Afghanistan. The Associated Press

Caldwell’s office denied the claims. But a press statement from Kabul said that the commander of forces in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus, would order an inquiry “based on the information” in the article.

The episode underscores how murky the dividing line can be between information operations and public affairs officers — one the Pentagon has wrestled with as it struggled to win the hearts and minds of populations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Thursday that the inquiry will look at the actions taken by Caldwell and his staff and determine whether they were inappropriate or illegal. That distinction, he said, depends on the circumstances.

“It just depends on what it is they are doing. It’s the actions, not just the assignment,” Lapan said. “It all depends on how the information is used. There is no blanket prohibition against having that information provided.”

As an example, he said an information operations officer could be asked to look up someone’s biography online in preparation for a visit.

But the military cell devoted to what is known as “information operations” believed their mission on arriving in Afghanistan in November 2009 was to assess the effects of U.S. propaganda on the Taliban and local Afghan population, Rolling Stone said, quoting Lt. Col. Michael Holmes, whom it identified as the leader of the five-man team.

Holmes said they resisted the order to compile information on congressional delegations that were visiting there and to think of what information “to plant inside their heads.” He said they were subjected to retaliation for resisting.

“My job in psy-ops is to play with people’s heads, to get the enemy to behave the way we want them to behave,” Holmes is quoted as saying. “When you ask me to try to use these skills on senators and congressman, you’re crossing a line.”

Those singled out in the campaign included Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Al Franken, D-Minn., and Carl Levin, D-Mich. Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., of the House Appropriations Committee; the Czech ambassador to Afghanistan; the German interior minister; and influential think-tank analysts, the story said, without identifying the international figures by name.

Levin pointed out Thursday that he has long been in favor of building up Afghan forces.

“I have strongly and repeatedly advocated for building up Afghan military capability because I believe only the Afghans can truly secure their nation’s future,” Levin said in a written statement. “I have never needed any convincing on this point.”

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