As one who has always believed that truth is our nation’s surest weapon in the propaganda war against our foes, I am distressed by reports of “disinformationâ€

Man, is that a political question or what?! If I see such a question on the GMAT, I'll know that I am in the twilight zone and Gorbachov and Reagan are appearing on the 8 o'clock news.

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1. C is my pick for the first question. Fire is opposite to water as truth to disinformation (lies).

A is very vague - I don't even understand what it means.
B - I think it actually contradicts the passage. The disinformation is "necessary" according to the apologists, so it seems to be working fine.
D - yeah right
E - the character of the agents is never referred to
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2. I pick A. I think the first sentence of the passage reveals the author's boyscout-like views on telling the truth.

B - the author talks about "the war against the foes", not about political standing in the world. With regard to the effectiveness - if the campaign of the Soviets has to be countered, than it has resulted in some kind of damage against the Americans, so disinformation is effective.
C- I don't see how this is implied.
D - we don't know how bad it is. If countermeasures are being taken, it's probably pretty bad, but we don't really know.
E - actually disinformation campaigns serve the political interests of the Americans, because they are employed to counter the activities of "the foe"
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Peace

think that the answer to Q1 is C) and to Q2-E)-the author clearly states in the very beginning that"As one who has always believed that truth is our nation’s surest weapon in the propaganda war against our foes.."

I'm not very clear on Q1 but i see the sense in C.
Q2 is surely E.
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It's not over until it's OVER!