Silencing Military Bloggers
By: admin
Wired News reported yesterday that new rules prevent Army soldiers, contractors and even civilian employees from blogging, sending personal email or other communication via the Internet without prior approval of their commanders. Before the regulations, which took effect April 19, military bloggers were encouraged to seek input from commanders before posting material “that might contain sensitive and/or critical information in a public forum.” but the new rule goes far beyond a common sense guideline intended to protect sensitive military information. It’s prior restraint, pure and simple. See Dadmanly’s blog for an interpretation fo the new regs from a military point of view.
If you’re interested at all in how the Iraq war looks from the point of view of people fighting it, you’ve probably read milblogs. If not, try Black Five and The Mudville Gazette. They offer insights and unvarnished assessments you simply can’t get from conventional media. The new Army regulations could well kill miliblogging.
But these regulations don’t merely affect bloggers: they potentially constrain anyone who sends email to friends and family, posts on MySpace, or uploads Flickr photos. You don’t have to be a blogger to be silenced by these onerous rules. Even if soldiers seek and receive clearance to communicate with the world back home, the requirement to clear every word, picture and YouTube video with a commander will undoubtedly have a chilling effect on speech by military personnel. Aside from the obvious free speech implications, such a heavy-handed regulation will surely do harm to the morale of Army members who have grown accustomed to expressing themselves via the Internet. According to the Wired story, military officials don’t anticipate scrutinizing every blog post and email. So it’s all or nothing. They could censor selectively if they wished to, or simply rule that all blogging is forbidding. And having such regulations in place makes it dead simple to silence soldiers who are critical of the Army.
To be sure, there are tactical plans and activities that should not be compromised via blog or email. The military has an interest in maintaining operational security. But these regulations go far beyond what’s necessary to do that.
-shelly
May 3rd, 2007 at 10:06 pm
I’m so happy you blogged about this Shelly, as it is a serious problem that is nothing but a snowball to more problems. Not only with those members of the military who have no other ties to home, but also with those who wish to speak about what is really happening in the middle east. It compromises no security because a member of the military tells us his perspective of the war. It does, however, compromise how the military would like those in the United States to view the war.
Great post!
May 4th, 2007 at 6:39 am
This appears to be more of an employer/employee issue than a first amendment issue. Bank employees have access to people’s account numbers and SSN’s, should they have the right to email that information home or post it to their blog? Obviously not. Same thing goes for the milbloggers; they are blogging about their job so their employer (i.e. the military) has the right to protect the information going out.
May 5th, 2007 at 1:49 am
Chris, that is an ignorant comparison. Have you been in combat? Have you served in the military? The US Military is not your typical employer. In fact, joining the military is more than a job, it’s a lifestyle.
When you’re dealing with SSN’s, that’s a privacy act issue, not an employer/employee issue.
May 5th, 2007 at 3:12 am
Having served in the military as a young lad, I can understand why they would want to restrict these types of blogs. The Bush administration is in a quagmire over this war. The military is there in Iraq at the behest of the president. Why does anyone think that the military would tolerate any type of blogging about the war, that would throw a wet blanket over just how well the war is really proceeding forward or backward. They want to control what the American people are being told about Iraq. It’s their job. It’s their obligation to the Commander and Chief. And make no mistake, there is no ” Free Speech ” issue here, because quite frankly there is no free speech when you are a soldier. There is only your duty to your country, and the idea of following orders that are given by a superior officer, weither you agree with them or not. And if you are thinking that this is just posted by a bitter ex-military person, that’s just not the case. All I need to say is the name of Pat Tillman. Unless your living in a third world country, your familiar with the name, the promise of this young man’s career, and the coverup of how he was actually killed by friendly fire. Another example of your good old uncle Sam’s military machine at work.
May 8th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
I would add Michael Yon to your list of suggested milbloggers.
May 8th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
My daughter, who’s in the military (and a milblogger), says operational security IS a valid concern - she has run into it from the other side, on occasion, where someone has posted material that gave away too much information. It’s a fine line. That said, I do think that the new regulations are heavy-handed and will probably be counter-productive.
By the way, I second Peter Porcupine’s recommendation of Michael Yon.