Posted on 08/24/2004 3:46:19 PM PDT by tricky_k_1972
Aug. 24, 2004 -- Military officials are cracking down on blogs written by soldiers and Marines in Iraq, saying some of them reveal sensitive information. Critics say it's an attempt to suppress unflattering truths about the U.S. occupation. NPR's Eric Niiler reports.
Army Spc. Colby Buzzell, stationed near Mosul with the First Battallion, 23rd Regiment, says he began his My War Web log to help combat boredom. "I'm just writing about my experiences," Buzzell says. "I'm pretty much putting my diary on the Internet -- that's all it is."
Buzzell says he has avoided describing sensitive information, such as U.S. weapons capabilities, weaknesses and scheduling. But earlier this month, Buzzell was lectured by commanders about violating operational security. Two other popular blogs run by soldiers have been shut down recently.
Lt. Col. Paul Hastings, a spokesman for Buzzell's unit, said Buzzell's blog now has to be reviewed by his platoon sergeant and a superior officer. In an e-mail to NPR, Hastings said the popularity of blogging has increased the chance that soldiers may inadvertently give away information to Internet-savvy enemies.
But some critics worry that military officials are trying to muffle dissent from troops in the field. "I really think it has much less to do with operational security and classified secrets and more to do with American politics and how the war is seen by a public that is getting increasingly shaky about the overall venture," says Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
NPR (National Public Radio) mentioned this website on its Day To Day show. Here is a link to the article: http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=3867981
Who's the f-ing weirdo that read my MEn In Black post all dramatic? The bus driver from the Simpsons?? WTF?
posted by CBFTW at 1:15 AM
This guy has some very good writing about Iraq, raw and untainted by today's media
His web site: http://cbftw.blogspot.com/2004/08/radio-npr.html#comments
Correction his site is: http://cbftw.blogspot.com/
"Think" doesn't do it for me, Mr. O'Hanlon, especially from someone at the Brookings Institute. Show me facts. Or STFU.
Ping
Similar thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1188890/posts
Loose lips sink ships. I would sure not want to have my movements placed on the net for all to see. We are creatures of habit and what we do today, we will do again tomorrow or the next day or next week. There needs to be some common sense applied, but these guys would make me a little leery.
Thanks for the ping.
You need to read his blog. I've read all his posts and have yet to find any that might compromise OPSEC. This guy is a good GI and reports only after the fact. He's rough and hard edged to be sure, but I like that alot more than the reporting from the pansy reporters sitting in Baghdad.
My War -- Fear and Loathing In Iraq ping
At least now all those people who didn't buy that he was actually a soldier now know the truth. 'course I didn't need to be told.
When something is happening that you don't like but you can't forcefully stop it, quote OPSEC.
I see it alot around here. From the speed bumps (SPEED BUMPS IN A COMBAT ZONE!!!) to the stupid a** way some things are run around here.....
Actually NPR has kinda twisted things, if you read his blog it really dosen't come off like they put the hatchet job on him.
I dont care about that....I see it here in Baghdad all the time...stupid stuff that has virtually nothing to do with OPSEC, but it gets quoted anyway. As a civilian I just laugh at it...but the soldiers are stuck with having to follow it....
Ha, soldiers always have to follow stupid stuff. It's part of the job description.
Exactly....which is what this web log ban falls into. Somehow I am not surprised....
Check
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1188890/posts
"Two other popular blogs run by soldiers have been shut down recently"
Also, it does show that the officer wants his hands in it somehow. I notice a lot of THAT going on here as well....
Hastings said the popularity of blogging has increased the chance that soldiers may inadvertently give away information to Internet-savvy enemies.
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