Military officials for the first time Friday detailed and broadly defended a Pentagon program that pays to get stories published in the Iraqi media, an effort the top U.S. military commander said was part of a campaign to "get the truth out" there.

But facing critics in the United States, including from lawmakers of both parties, the military raised the possibility of making changes in the program.

"If any part of our process does not have our full confidence, we will examine that activity and take appropriate action," said Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a military spokesman in Iraq. "If any contractor is failing to perform as we have intended we will take appropriate action."

Johnson did not specify what changes, if any, might be considered.

The remarks came after days of reports and criticism that the military was covertly planting stories in the Iraqi media that, while factual, gave a slanted, positive view of conditions in Iraq.

U.S. military officials in Iraq said articles had been offered and published in Iraqi newspapers "as a function of buying advertising and opinion/editorial space, as is customary in Iraq."

Coalition forces compiled the material, and the Washington-based Lincoln Group was authorized to pay Iraqi papers to run the articles, which were supposed to be identified in that way, according to Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Warner, who went to the Pentagon on Friday for an explanation, said the program was carefully monitored by military leaders and was reviewed by lawyers to ensure it complied with the law.

Warner said if determined to be true, the practice of paying someone to plant favorable stories without disclosing it would be wrong - and he was confident the military leaders would agree.

But Warner and military leaders, including Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also defended the program.

"Things like this happen. It's a war," Warner said. "The disinformation that's going on in that country is really affecting the effectiveness of what we're achieving, and we have no recourse but to try and do some rebuttal information."

Pace told The Associated Press, "We want to get the facts out. We want to get the truth out."

In Baghdad, Johnson, the military spokesman, said third parties such as the Lincoln Group were used to market the stories to reduce the risk of retaliation against the publishers.

The stories in Iraqi newspapers often praise the efforts of U.S. and Iraqi troops, denounce terrorism and promote the country's reconstruction efforts, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. The Times said documents it obtained showed that the Baghdad-based newspaper Al Mutamar was paid about $50 to run one of the stories, which had the headline "Iraqis Insist on Living Despite Terrorism" on Aug. 6.

Lincoln Group spokeswoman Laurie Adler issued a statement saying the public relations company has worked with the Iraqi media to "promote truthful reporting."

A Pentagon spokesman, Bryan Whitman, said it was not clear whether the program violated the law or Pentagon policy.

"You can do something perfectly legal, but that is inconsistent with the policy or procedures of the department," he said. "Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's the right thing to do."

The Lincoln Group has at least two contracts with the military to provide media and public relations services. One contract, for $6 million, was for public relations and advertising work in Iraq.

The other Lincoln contract, which is with the Special Operations Command, is worth up to $100 million over five years for media operations with video, print and Web-based products. That contract is not related to the dispute over propaganda and was not for services in Iraq, according to command spokesman Ken McGraw.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., asked the Defense Department's internal watchdog to investigate the matter.

"These reports raise serious questions about whether the Department of Defense engaged in covert activity by concealing the role of the government," Kennedy said in a letter Friday to acting Inspector General Thomas F. Gimble. "This perception is reinforced by suggestions that there are classified aspects to this activity."

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