MilBlogs on Wall Street

MlBlogs in the Wall Street Journal - a picture of CB and some details of what's been going on with his blog - all under a slightly misleading headline.

I have a tough time writing headlines too.

Gripe: Would it have killed the WSJ folks to put a hyperlink in the text? If so, couldn't they have at least put the url for My War? Watch:

http://cbftw.blogspot.com/

Both at once!

Meanwhile An American Soldier notes that he too was mentioned without a link.

But here: http://soldierlife.blogspot.com he can speak for himself.

On a positive note, this story should put to rest any lingering fears anyone might have that the Army is "cracking down " on military blogs.

Update: The linked story is no longer available on WSJ. Here are some excerpts, in which I've changed the references to blogs to links (I would also change the headline to "Army Supports Blogs", but oh well...):

Soldiers' missives haven't been routinely expurgated since World War II and the days of "Loose Lips Sink Ships." The Pentagon doesn't prescreen soldiers' communications, whether print or electronic, assigning the job of policing soldier-journalists to commanders in the field. There are restrictions against divulging references to specific troop locations, patrol schedules or anything that might help the enemy predict how U.S. troops might react to an attack. But commanders in Iraq rely on the honor system and soldiers' common sense to enforce restrictions. Infractions are in the eye of the beholder, difficult to define but easy to recognize in practice.

Censorship that does occur usually comes after the fact. Earlier this year, Army investigators were forced to go stateside to track down reams of snapshots of Iraqi prisoner abuse that Abu Ghraib guards disseminated by e-mail or sent home on computer disk. In July, an Army captain was reassigned and stripped of his leave home after writing an opinion piece published in the Washington Post.

Lt. Col. Barry Venable, a Pentagon spokesman, says blogs, like other forms of communication, are tolerated so long as they don't violate operational or informational security. "We treat them the same way we would if they were writing a letter or speaking to a reporter: It's just information," he says. "If a guy is giving up secrets, it doesn't make much difference whether he's posting it on a blog or shouting it from the rooftop of a building."

Still, many bloggers, some operating in obscure corners of Iraq where traditional reporters are scarce, appear to be flying under the Pentagon's radar. There's "American Soldier," a diary compiled by an Army reservist currently preparing for his second call-up, who describes himself in an e-mail as "p -- ed, frustrated, happy and sad at the same time." A site called "Boots on the Ground" is heavy on detail about U.S. armaments. "Just Another Soldier," a National Guardsman's account, is available only by e-mail request, the author says, after his command, citing security concerns, asked him to dismantle the site.

<...>

In an e-mail exchange, Col. James says the Army was concerned about a possible security breach on Spc. Buzzell's blog, but had no desire to muzzle him. "I counseled SPC Buzzell along with his Platoon Sergeant on these points and ensured that he understood that anything he was unsure about should be reviewed by his chain of command," Col. James says. Spc. Buzzell has "performed gallantly" as a soldier, he says.

But Spc. Buzzell's trouble with the command continued. A few days later, after leaving a mocking message on his blog to the military intelligence officers he now assumed were reading along, Spc. Buzzell was ordered confined to camp. He was returned to regular duty and posted a few more times, but he recently removed all of his archives from the site, and new postings are now sporadic. He says it just isn't as fun to write, now that he has to submit everything to his platoon sergeant prior to publication. "I was never edited before," he says. "Now I am."

Spc. Buzzell said he hasn't decided whether to permanently stop posting. He says he received scores of e-mails when "My War" went silent and even got some subtle nudges from his command to continue. Indeed, Col. James seems nostalgic for Internet accounts of his men. "To be candid, I believe the widespread popularity of his writing came as a bit of a shock to him and he was uncomfortable with the attention," Col. James said in an e-mail. "Personally, I think he is a talented writer and a gifted storyteller and should pursue his talent."

Update 2: Buzzell's latest post is... well, you figure it out. I'd add that if you're being censored then "I'm being censored" is an interesting statement for the censors to ignore.

More here.

Update 3: It's worth noting that the WSJ story was included in the Early Bird - the Pentagon's collection of news stories designed for the top brass and available to any troop anywhere with internet access. Those who are able will find it in the 9 Sep. compilation. Bottom line: please forget that "under the radar" bit, okay?

Update 4: For the benefit of new readers here, the MilBlogs page has lots of previous posts on this topic, along with loads of links to other military bloggers. Since you are here I assume you have an interest in such things. Continuously updated, the MilBlogs page is probably something you'd like to bookmark, add to your favorites, or blogroll. (Or use one of these banners to link to; be a "Friend of MilBlogs")