Army may be crushing active duty milblogs

This is not good. It’s not surprising, since we’re talking about the Army and the powers-that-be in the Army react to changing social circumstances like snails react to salt - retreat inward and hope it goes away.  Still, it’s not good.  Some of the only sources for what is happening on the ground in Iraq are serving milbloggers, and this may effectively silence them.

Army Regulation 530--1: Operations Security (OPSEC) (.pdf) restricts more than just blogs, however. Previous editions of the rules asked Army personnel to “consult with their immediate supervisor” before posting a document “that might contain sensitive and/or critical information in a public forum.” The new version, in contrast, requires “an OPSEC review prior to publishing” anything—from “web log (blog) postings” to comments on internet message boards, from resumes to letters home.

Failure to do so, the document adds, could result in a court-martial, or “administrative, disciplinary, contractual, or criminal action.”

It applies to civilian contractors as well.

It seems to be to be cutting off your nose to spite your face.  The Democrats, radical leftists and “true conservatives” don’t want to ever discuss a single positive element of the war in Iraq.  It’s all Bush, all the time.  If one wishes to hear anything other than “Bush is a failure and Iraq is lost” then one must look to the boots on the ground.

Whether we want to admit it or not, part of this conflict is the propaganda war, and when you silence the one voice that people trust...you;re going to lose that part of the war.  I can only hope that this part is also true;

Despite the absolutist language, the guidelines’ author, Major Ray Ceralde, said there is some leeway in enforcement of the rules. “It is not practical to check all communication, especially private communication,” he noted in an e-mail. “Some units may require that soldiers register their blog with the unit for identification purposes with occasional spot checks after an initial review. Other units may require a review before every posting.”

But I fear it will be more like this;

But with the regulations drawn so tightly, “many commanders will feel like they have no choice but to forbid their soldiers from blogging—or even using e-mail,” said Jeff Nuding, who won the bronze star for his service in Iraq. “If I’m a commander, and think that any slip-up gets me screwed, I’m making it easy: No blogs,” added Nuding, writer of the “pro-victory” Dadmanly site. “I think this means the end of my blogging.”

Get ‘em while you can, people.  Blackfive says this will only lead to the people who leak negative information continuing, and anyone who would discuss positive missions will probably play by the rules.  Yep.  Makes sense to me.  Greyhawk over at Milbloggers calls it “the end.” Just like he did in the Wired article, so did Dadmanly.

Not good.  Definitely not smart.  Winning a war means winning the peace, and winning the peace includes winning the propaganda war at home.  Sorry, but it’s true.  Since day one, the military has been losing that battle and these new rules will only make it worse.

Posted by JimK at 07:19 PM on May 02, 2007
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