( Michael Yon )Military Mysteriously Cuts Short Top War Correspondent's Time in Afghanistan

The military has cut short a war correspondent's embed, and there may be evidence that the decision may have been part of a smear campaign against the writer.

Michael Yon, a former Green Beret, has been covering Iraq and Afghanistan for six years. He has also covered conflicts in Thailand, the Philippines, and Nepal. Following a string of events covered by Yon that cast a negative light on two top NATO commanders, the military decided to terminate Yon's embed prematurely, citing reasons that didn't add up.

ISAF's reason for disembedding Yon was “embed overcrowding.” Yet in an email to Admiral Gregory J. Smith, an ISAF public affairs officer, Yon wrote, “I rarely see journalists. Those journalists I see have been doing drive-by reporting.”

Yon states that he has forwarded to his attorney “compelling evidence” of a smear campaign perpetrated by members of Gen. McChrystal's staff. He says that the general's staff have released official statements that are “defamatory and libelous

And excuse me for not jumping on the anti-McChrystal bandwagon without it. UPDATE: US Air Force Lt. Col. Edward T. Sholtis, with the public affairs office of the ISAF command in Afghanistan writes:

“Yon started his embed in Kandahar on 3 February with invitational orders lasting 87 days, much longer than a typical embed,” a U.S. military official who asked not to be named said. “As his agreed-upon time in Afghanistan began to wind down, he let it be known that he intended to remain embedded through August of this year. Given a finite ability to host embedded reporters, this decision amounted to a choice to deny some of his colleagues an opportunity that he had enjoyed from more than two months, and which he can always request to repeat. The ripple effects of that choice in one way or another would have impacted 26 journalists currently scheduled to embed later this month (who are still waiting to be matched with available slots), 76 who have been wait-listed because of a lack of slots, and hundreds more who are hoping to embed in Kandahar later this summer. The responsible PAOs therefore decided to disembed Yon against his wishes, which coincides with the period when the verbal attacks against General McChrystal started.”

“Prior to that, Yon’s reporting of coalition operations had been critical, but not in a way that raised any serious concerns here in Kabul.” he continued.

Yon wants our troops to succeed and have the ability to keep themselves alive as well as keep their Brothers alive. Nuf’ said.

He's on the official enemy list of this administration and their globalist cohorts who want to keep control of the information coming out of the theatre. Yon tells it like he sees it and the troops respect him. He had to be removed in McChrystal and Obama's plan to control all the information coming out of Afghanistan and they wanted to stop him from blowing huge holes in their dangerous ROEs by exposing their deadly results on our troops. They want Obama media propagandist lapdogs who will behave, not a real war correspondent like Yon.

Plus, Yon actually has the cajones to label a 'terrorist' a 'terrorist'. Something this administration has dropped in favor of our enemies.

“...My experiences with the U.S. military as a soldier and then as a writer and photographer covering soldiers have been overwhelmingly positive, and I feel no shame in saying I am biased in favor of our troops. Even worse, I feel no shame in calling a terrorist a terrorist. I've seen their deeds and tasted air filled with burning human flesh from their bombs. I've seen terrorists kill children while our people risk their lives to save civilians again, and again, and again. I feel no shame in saying I hope that Afghanistan and Iraq “succeed,” whatever that means....”~Michael Yon

I don’t think our bureaucratic, managerial, careerist, risk averse, waiting until retirement world likes that kind of view. It/the products of it’s schools, systems sees/feels that kind of energy as a threat. Plain talk, honestly said is a unknown language in positions of power now. Where is the era of argue, fight, drink up and make up? Now it is ‘I’m going to the gym with my Ipod and work on my lats’.

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