Is There Any Good News?

Sig Christenson, San Antonio Express-News military writer, offers a long (but well worth reading) editorial in which he struggles to come to grips with the shifting relationship between the media and the military

A familiar Iraqi street scene plays out on a flat-screen TV in the office of the U.S. Central Command's No. 2 man here.

Shot from an RQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, the image captures Iraqis in traditional Arab dress walking onto a street in Mosul near a set of earthtone homes.

"You're looking at a city that didn't look very much different than any community in the United States," said Lt. Gen. Lance Smith, deputy chief of the U.S. Central Command. "Traffic all over the place, people all over the streets, commerce going on, and they don't have mortars going off and IEDs (improvised explosive devices) blowing up and all that stuff all the time."

That's the Iraq he thinks many Americans never see or read about. It's an argument as old as the U.S.-led occupation and tends to be made by some in the military and supporters of President Bush. Once a whisper, the claim is now a roar. "You're not telling the good news stories," they say.

Between occasional attempts at balance, the piece seems to lurch back and forth between an enthusiastic defense of the media position and a rather meager attempt to deflect blame for any disconnect to the highest levels in the Pentagon. Perhaps oblivious to his own shortsightedness, the author doesn't hesitate to espouse the Iraq quagmire and Rumsfeld bad mantra that is likely the core of the complaint that so many in my profession would lodge against so many in his.

Embedding reporters with troops was a great step toward repairing a strained relationship between the media and military that dated to the Vietnam War. But the natural friction between journalists and the military has risen as the lightning invasion has morphed into a quagmire. <...> Smith, Central Command's deputy chief, is weary of the Western media's focus on terrorist bombings, insurgent attacks and the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal. Such reports overshadow a "vibrant" economy in Baghdad, a city that has "an awful lot of activity that's positive." <...> As he sat in his office July 8, after a two-day tour of Iraq with Express-News photographer Ed Ornelas and myself, Smith complained that Western media were still focused on Abu Ghraib.

"Abu Ghraib isn't a big story with the Arab media anymore. The turnover of the government, the future of Iraq, the folks that are dying senselessly, those are issues for the Arab media," he said. "But (the U.S. media) keeps wanting to get drawn back to this small group of people that humiliated a small group of Iraqis who in general were not good people to begin with."

But in the minds of many, Abu Ghraib is now about one thing and one thing only - getting Rummy - and it is (artificially) divorced from the situation on the ground in Iraq. The lust for the secdef is revealed in later passages:

..."At the Pentagon, there is a lot of bad blood between the Army and the office of the secretary of defense, and that makes reporting difficult. Also, many senior officers have the perception that Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and those around him don't want generals to talk to reporters."

One journalist said reporters have become "increasingly cynical" about the Rumsfeld-led Pentagon's candor. He voiced suspicions that the White House and Pentagon have run a "concerted campaign to blame the media" for some of the failings in Iraq.

"I think the question of balanced coverage is a fair one. But demonizing one side or blaming the media for the unstable situation on the ground is telling."

<...>

Ricks and other reporters agree the low point came when Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz this summer told the House Armed Services Committee, "Frankly, part of our problem is a lot of the press are afraid to travel very much, so they sit in Baghdad and publish rumors."

Now if anyone can provide an example of anything the Pentagon tried to "blame" on the media, I'd truly like to see the quote. The more I read of this, the more I wonder about what drove it - has the failure of the press become so catastrophic? Has the desire to paint a picture so detrimental to the current administration now completely overwhelmed objectivity, restraint, and judgment of the average reporter, to the point that truth has become a casualty of a war - the war being fought in America, for votes?

Christenson notes:

It's convenient for the Bush administration and its supporters to make journalists the object of scorn for flawed policies and an obvious failure to do their homework. It is especially convenient to do so in an election year.

Journalists filing flimsy stories might be tired, stressed, under deadline pressure or lazy, but it's a stretch to imagine that any of us wake up in Iraq each morning thinking about how to trash Bush or the military."

But if he's truly interested in finding the source of mistrust that military commanders may harbor for reporters, he may want to look to Baghdad '03 before accusing Washington '04:

Wesley had been monitoring BBC radio that morning to find out how the news of the thunder run was playing. He had listened to Mohammed Said al-Sahaf, Iraq's bombastic information minister, deliver a taunting news conference at the Palestine Hotel on the east bank of the Tigris, just six kilometers from where Robert Ball had made the wrong turn off the spaghetti junction. Sahaf claimed that no American forces had entered the city and that Iraqi troops had slaughtered hundreds of American "scoundrels" at the airport.

"Today we butchered the force present at the airport," Sahaf had said,. "We are hitting them with rockets and artillery and surprising them with tactics that are new" -- apparently a reference to suicide cars and trucks. "Today the tide has turned, " he went on. "We are destroying them." Sahaf instructed Iraqi civilians to alert the armed forces to any American troop movements and to maintain "calm, good organization - to confront the enemy effectively, conquer them and force them to retreat accursed and defeated."

Wesley related Sahaf's outlandish claims to Perkins. He also told him that the BBC was reporting that its reporters had not seen any American tanks in Baghdad that morning, and had concluded that there had been no American presence inside the capital. Perkins pursed his lips and shook his head. Sahaf was starting to irritate him. It galled him that soldiers had driven so hard to penetrate the city, only to have a buffoon in a beret belittle them to the world. And the BBC wasn't even disputing Sahaf?s rants. Worse, Perkins thought, enemy fighters who had not actually seen his brigade's tanks that day would now believe their own propaganda. That only motivated them to fight harder in a doomed cause. He felt like driving his tanks up to the Ministry of Information in the city center to shut Sahaf up.

Then later, in the mission briefing:

Perkins mentioned Sahaf, the information minister. He had to admit it - he was becoming obsessed with that cocky little functionary in his military costume and ridiculous beret. Perkins didn't want to spin his own lies and propaganda. He just wanted the truth to get out. "So we're going to the back of the room where they give the news conferences and ask a couple questions - and ask for validation for parking for a hundred tanks, " he said.

Thunder Run, again.

Of course we all laughed at "Baghdad Bob" - but the reality was that Iraqi citizens out the next day under cover of nothing but a false sense of security were caught in a cross fire and never made it back home.

I certainly wouldn't want to be accused of blaming the media, but how many died as a result of reporting like this?:

SADDAM HUSSEIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - So where are the Americans? I prowled the empty departure lounges, mooched through the abandoned customs department, chatted to the seven armed militia guards, met the airport director and stood beside the runways where two dust-covered Iraqi Airways passenger jets -- an old 727 and an even more elderly Antonov -- stood forlornly on the runway not far from an equally decrepit military helicopter.

And all I could hear was the distant whisper of high-flying jets and the chatter of the flocks of birds which have nested near the airport car park on this, the first day of real summer in Baghdad.

The shooting and bad reporting continues to this day. Lets forgive the generals if they decline to offer any intrepid reporter their full and complete trust. We'll assume their motives are something beyond the story.

That Mr. Christensen seems to think the discussion is one of politics, vice human lives, is an interesting revelation in and of itself.

Ooops

I mean, uh, well you know, uh... well, um...

Update: I mean, well, you know, I wouldn't let my supposed bias interfere with my objectivity, er...

Update 2: Um, er, well...

Guard Soldier in Iraq to Lose Civilian Job?

An interesting story from Hawaii:

State Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo, a National Guard soldier who volunteered for service in Iraq after she had filed for re-election, said yesterday she will not campaign for a second term.

"After thorough research, it is clear that Department of Defense rules will prohibit me from performing my legislative responsibilities while on active military duty in Iraq," she said at a press conference yesterday at the state Capitol.

State law, however, requires that Tamayo's name remain on the ballot. She declined to say whether she will resign if elected, or whether she will endorse another candidate for her office.

Because Department of Defense regulations limit campaign activities, Tamayo, D-42nd (Waipahu, Honouliuli, 'Ewa), said she felt prohibited from disclosing much about her political intentions. She said she had stopped all political activities after being placed on active duty two weeks ago.

During the press conference, Tamayo called the possibility of being elected and being unable to perform her duties "unacceptable."

"My goal is to actually be of service, not just to hold onto my position," she said.

<...>

Tamayo is among some 2,000 Hawai'i National Guard members who reported for active duty two weeks ago as part of an 18-month mission that will include service in Iraq.

"Although I was not activated," Tamayo wrote in her statement, "I volunteered to go with (her fellow Guardsmen) because I felt it was my duty as a soldier and a friend to join them in the service of our country."

Pentagon officials said earlier this month that Tamayo is not prohibited under federal law from holding office while serving on active duty, but would be forbidden from conducting any of the duties of her office.

Tamayo said she did not know that would be the case when she volunteered for duty in Iraq.

Emphasis added.

We'll hope her political opponents will refrain from suggesting she's 'AWOL', or otherwise questioning the character of her service.

Not Sure if CNN Covered It...

Smash has returned from active duty and is blogging on his backup site, where he provides a first-hand account of a San Diego "peace" protest turned violent.

A nice welcome home, eh?

The Whole Truth

This Washington Post article is one of many pretending to authoritatively "set the record staight" on the abuses at Abu Ghraib:

But the senior officers cited for indirectly allowing the abuse to flourish at the Abu Ghraib prison will not face charges under the findings of an Army report issued this week -- a fact that three Army generals explained and defended yesterday in interviews. Those in the U.S. command structure who failed to supervise their subordinates, who handed down unclear and in some cases illegal policies, and who ignored signs of abuse were found in Army reports to be "responsible" for the problems but not "culpable" because they did not have a direct hand in the mistreatment.

"That's the differentiation that's being made," Gen. Paul J. Kern -- who supervised the Army's most recent investigation, by Marine Gen. George R. Fay and Lt. Gen. Anthony R. Jones -- said in an interview yesterday with Washington Post editors and reporters. "Are we letting them off the hook? I don't think so. In fact, we put the spotlight on them and said, 'You didn't do your job right.' "

Love the "responsible" but not "culpable" - apparently the full quote wouldn't get the point across, so we're down to using just two words.

Small problem:

An Aug. 27 article about an Army report on abuse of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq incorrectly identified George R. Fay as a Marine general. Fay is in the Army, and his rank is major general.

Hmmmm, Marines, Army... whatever. A "minor" mistake. Not sure from the correction who's "responsible" or "culpable" though. Doesn't matter - certainly the remaining details are "right".

MilBloggers

Our first MilBlogger from England, welcome Kommentariat to the MilBlogs Ring! Spanning the globe like no other news organization ever.

Back stateside, Vietnam veteran Bill Faith is blogging up a storm. Scroll scroll scroll...

For Your Pleasure

Pleasure Boat Captains for Truth.

Sooner or later, the past comes out.

(Via Blackfive)

Will the wounds never heal?

Matthew's Complaint

Blogger Matthew Gross has issues with CNN:

Several hundred thousand people peacefully protested George Bush today in New York, and at 9:30 pm, it ain't on the frigging TV. Not even a mention on Headline News.

I guess it didn't happen. Headline News just left its first segment, and gave me a teaser for "Southern Storms."

I'll wait with baited breath, CNN.

Yes, and in the meantime we'll have to settle for coverage from Reuters, AP, the New York Times, MSNBC, the NY Times (yes, again - hey, it's local!) and, uh... well... CNN. (and on CNN TV here and here and... well, okay, anyway, unbait your breath.)

But will the lament change if middle America doesn't respond warmly to this sort of reporting:

But individual protesters kept tensions high, some of them hissing or cursing at well-heeled couples heading to popular Broadway musicals like "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and "Fiddler on the Roof."

"Republican murderers go home and kill your babies!" one young man yelled at theatergoers, a far cry from local public service messages urging New Yorkers to "make nice" to party delegates in the city for the four-day convention, where Bush will be nominated for another four-year term.

A second protester shoved a middle-aged woman in a black cocktail dress, shouting:

"Bitch, go home! We don't want you here!" At one point, police cordoned off a city block after several dozen demonstrators jeered and razzed the incoming audience.

Of course the cry will change, to this:

Let's see... the NYC police announced 134 arrests today. I estimated the crowd size to be "well over" 250,000. But, for the sake of you mathematicians from Michigan State University... let's make it easy for you and say "100,000." 134/100,000 equals a little over 1/10 of 1 percent. So, the crowd was 99.9 percent peaceful today. Humble pie, my friends?

A fair complaint perhaps - but the planes that land safely don't make the news, you know? And you know, I'm no Jethro, but I got me one of them calculators on my computer (I stuck it on with gloo) and I calculated this:

Population NYC: 8 million
Number protestors: 100,000
Percentage of people of NY protesting: 1.25%

Which works only as long as we ignore the busses that brought our fearless violators of Ashcroft's ban on free speech into town from points near and far. As long as we're doing math, you know. And hey! That wasn't reported either!!!!. But really, who's counting?

Certainly not Tim Blair. (Drink alert. Go.)

Update: More here, including an explanation of the caskets.

By the way, you're registered to vote, aren't you?

Johnny

(With apologies to Mr. Kipling and the British Army)

Johnny went public with ?is boasts, an? ?ero without fear,
?Til sudden like the Swifties say, ?We got a turncoat ?ere.?
The Libs they just ignored ?em, sayin? ?Ah, it?s all a lie!?
Then Johnny?s outted by their ads an? to myself says I:

Oh it?s Johnny this an? Johnny that, ?e?s the ?ero of the day.
But it?s wait now, Mr. Kerry, what?s that record really say?
The horns are loudly blowin? boys as our band begins to play,
An? it?s goodbye, Mr. Kerry, as they blow your arse away.

Johnny goes to Cincinnati sober as a man can be,
An? they give ol? George a ?Bravo Lad!? but John no sympathy.
They give ?im plain their message, sittin? silent in the ?alls,
That when it comes to fightin? men, they know oo?s got the balls.

For it?s Johnny this an? Johnny that, but wait, he might ?a lied
From the platform of his campaign train an? on the Boston tide.
His ship is on the tide, my boys, his ship is on the tide,
An? it?s plain as day she?s sinkin? boys, because the turncoat lied.

Yes Johnny mocked our uniforms that guard you while you sleep.
He cheapened all our medals throwing his upon that heap;
An? rustlin? up his phony troops, he led them for a bit,
Until his aspirations and theirs no longer fit.

Now it?s Johnny this an? Johnny that, an? Johnny how?s yer soul,
In that brave front rank of ?eroes as our drums begin their roll?
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
An? they?ll keep right on a rollin? boys, ?til we chuck ?im in the hole.

We make no claim as ?eroes, nor we aren?t no blackguards too,
But ?onorable men an? warriors fightin? once agin for you.
An? if your ?ero?s record, our charges soundly taint,
That?s what we?re tryin? to tell you blokes, your ?ero ain?t no saint.

For it?s Johnny this an? Johnny that, an? ?Check him out, the Loot!?
Was ?e the ?Savior of ?is country? when the guns begin to shoot?
Now it?s Johnny?s turn to prove us wrong, an? make us all out liars,
By signin? that one eighty form an? puttin out the fires.

Oh it?s Johnny this an? Johnny that, ?e?s the ?ero of the day,
But it?s hold on, Mr. Kerry, what?s that record really say?
The horns are loudly blowin? boys, as our band begins to play,
?Cheerio, Old Man,? to Johnny and blows his arse away.

Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66

(Greyhawk's note: More from Russ here, here, and here)

Bad Form

CNN's American Morning reports it wasn't just Drudge:

Some drama last night on the stage of the MTV Video Music Awards involving the daughters of presidential candidate John Kerry. Our pop culture correspondent, Toure, is joining me now live from Miami with more on all of this.

Toure, good morning. Beautiful shot behind you there.

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. How are you?

COLLINS: I'm great. Listen, I want to get straight to the sound of this. A little bit unexpected event last night, when Vanessa and Alexandra about halfway through the show or so took to the microphones. Let's go ahead and listen for a minute.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANESSA KERRY, JOHN KERRY'S DAUGHTER: It's good to be here with you all tonight in Florida and to get this chance...

(BOOING)

KERRY: And get this chance...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: So, Toure, I understand you had a chance to talk with Vanessa. We want to go ahead and listen to what she said about that incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: I was scared out of my mind. I mean, I grabbed my sister, and I thought, what is happening? And -- but it doesn't matter, because we're fighting for something that I believe in so strongly. I will go up there and hear the whole arena boo if it means connecting with one person.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: So Toure, did she connect?

TOURE: She did connect. I mean, most people cheered. But there were a lot of boos. And you could hear that.

And it was kind of a difficult moment for her. And, as she said, she was really scared by that. But, you know, they're really focused on helping their dad.

And MTV made it a nonpartisan moment by bringing in the Bush twins by videotape. So it was kind of a together moment. I mean, the whole night, there was a political subtext just saying, like, vote, everybody get out and be part of the system.

COLLINS: But, Toure, you know, we just did a series last week on sort of the lines being blurred between politics and entertainment. I'm just wondering, do you think the crowd was like, hey, this isn't why I'm here. I don't want to hear about politics. Do you think that could have been part of it?

TOURE: I think maybe part of it. I mean, you know, this is -- this is such a battleground state, it's such a passionate election. And I think people who really believe in the president were like boo to you. But why would you boo somebody's daughter?

The guy's from JET, the rock band said, you know, it's like if James Hetfield's daughter or son was walking down the street, James Hetfield from Metallica, and they would boo like the son, like "We don't like your dad's band, boo." Like, you know, they're just kids trying to help their parents.

Well, guess that explains it.

Update: Video here.

Note the ladies glance backwards when the booing begins to see just who the object of that scorn may be. No doubt that was a chilling moment, when they realized for whom that bell tolled.

But you'll feel foolish to learn (after reading the above report and watching the event with your own eyes) that according to this CNN story the crowd was booing the Bush twins, most likely in some sort of anticipatory response.

(Update links via Instapundit)

Regardless of who was booing who... note the title of this post.

Update 2: Matthew Gross explains it all.

Happy Birthday!

Aging sure beats the alternative. One year wiser? We'll all benefit from that.

Cause The Streets of NYC is Just No Place For...

Roger Simon reports from the streets man:

Cops were everywhere. It was fun talking to them. One of them said to me, "It's like fuggin' 9/11 never happened." His buddies seemed to agree.

But what can a poor boy do, 'cept to sing for a rock n' roll band...?

CPR Needed?

Does this man have redeeming qualities? (The subject, of course, not the author.)

Can anyone provide a few?

Vote Nader if you must.

The Quick and the Dead

I've said this before, I'm glad he's on our side.

The Boyd column is an embarrassment to himself and to his colleagues on the editorial pages and to the entire paper. In an age of accountability, he would be fired. Because the Strib's editorial pages have long ago given up on even a remote association with intellectual honesty, he will instead be treated to sympathetic slaps on the back and mutterings about the right wing --and left secure in his poisoned view of the world as were southern slave owners were in the face of the abolitionist movement, and the appeasers upon hearing from Churchill throughout the '30s that they had judged developments on the continent wrongly. Clinging to discredited certainties is a sure sign of a fool or a fanatic. Boyd doesn't have the talent to be the latter.

I think the concept is applicable to more than a few people, on more than a few current topics.

This piece has another withering quote from Hugh:

"I have been both a lawyer/law professor for two decades and a television/radio/print journalist for 15 years of those 20," Hugh Hewitt blogged. "It takes a great deal more intelligence and discipline to be the former than to be the latter, which is why the former usually pays a lot more than the latter. It is no surprise to me, then, when lawyers/law professors like those at Powerline and Instapundit prove to be far more adept at exposing the 'Christmas-in-Cambodia' lie and other Kerry absurdities than old-school journalists."

I'm inclined to agree on the relative difficulties (allowing for exceptions) but note that neither latin nor words of over two syllables are required for a truly effective denouement:

"Never pick a fight with a guy who buys ink by the barrel": That's old wisdom. The new wisdom -- being taught to a guy at the Star Tribune -- is don't pick a fight with guys who buy pixels by the passel. And who know how to use Google.

So says Glenn.

Now go read Powerline.

Thunder Run

Another passage from Thunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad, this one dealing with a tank that had been forced to drop behind the main column. In attempting to rejoin the battalion the crew missed a turn, and instead of heading for the airport found themselves driving alone into the heart of Baghdad:

Suddenly they were rolling into a traffic circle - Qahtain Square in the Yarmouk section of Baghdad. Gruneisen radioed the captain: "Did you go through a traffic circle?"

"Negative,"

Iraqi military trucks were parked along the square. Soldiers were milling around. It was a staging area for attacks on the column. The tank rumbled into the square. The Iraqi soldiers stared up at the big tan machine, shocked to see an M1A1 Abrams barreling down on them. The tank crew stared, too. They had never expected to confront the enemy in such a personal way - literally face-to-face. There was a brief, suspended moment.

"Oh shit," Gruneisen said.

The Iraqi soldiers didn't open fire. They ran - they scattered everywhere. It struck Hernandez as preposterous. There were five Americans surrounded by dozens of Iraqis in the heart of the Iraqi capital, and the Iraqis were fleeing. He had a mental image of cockroaches scattering when you turn on the kitchen light.

However, not everyone ran:

Gruneisen ordered Peterson to speed through the circle. There wasn't enough time to back up and turn around. He wanted to just plow through the circle, past the trucks and soldiers, and head back the way they had come. The soldiers scattered out of the way. Gruneisen couldn't tell whether anyone was firing at them. As they rolled into the circle, Hernandez saw yellow pickup truck speeding toward them with two men in the front seat. There wasn't time for a warning shot - no time to determine whether these were wayward civilians or militiamen trying to ram them. Hernandez got off a burst from the M-240. He saw a spray of blood stain the windshield and watched the passenger go down. The driver hit the brakes and the pickup spun and went into a skid.

A strange mix of responses, from suicidal attacks to fleeing the scene. (And in the midst of it all a large group of civilians, deceived by their government into believing there was no danger in the streets that day.) But the uncoordinated attacks from those who did choose to fight seems to indicate a lack of leadership, or at least effective leadership, on the part of the Iraqi military command. Could it have been the officers of the Iraqi army who that lone tank sent fleeing from the traffic circle that day?

During Desert Storm those officers fled long before the ground combat phase began, leaving the rank and file to confront the onslaught. That such an event occurred again during Operation Iraqi Freedom is likely, and probably contributed greatly to the swift downfall of the regime.

Regardless of what might or might not have happened on that day, certainly collapse and failure are the twin fates waiting any army whose officers seek the first opportunity to abandon their command.

Vote Nader if you Must

SondraK offers a must-read post. Regulars here will recognize the referenced story. And don't stop at the end of her entry; make sure you catch the comment from Peter, who left similar remarks here recently.

His words have the ring of pure heartfelt honesty. Read it, and pass it on to anyone who claims it's all about Bush.

Vote Nader if you must.

A Third Crew Speaks Out

Another Kerry book.

Will the wounds never heal?

The Ghost Battalions

A reminder found while housecleaning the blog this weekend: Just Another Soldier. Interesting in light of this week's discussion on the fate of military blogs in general.

Closing Blogs is nothing new. So many site's owners just give up on their own. They come and go, you know, these MilBloggers do. Like any other sort of blogger. Many post in the lonely down hours far from home, spill their guts for the world, then abandon their spots when the tour of duty is up. They have lives again somewhere in the world, and no need to share the details. So it goes.

Many are truly gone - no site left at all. "The page cannot be found." Other blogs remain, like abandoned defensive positions in shifting desert sands. Once some bold soldier was here, now no more. The ghost battalions of the web. How you doin', Major Pain? And look, here was Thor. And here stood Moja. Farewell, Will.

They are more than the thoughts they left behind, but now only those orphaned thoughts remain, left for any to see. Museum pieces, like tombs, offering something to the scholar or the scavenger, or enjoyed in passing by the casual traveler.

Here Tim waited for Patti. Is Chromedome's Zone next?

Zeros and ones you know. On one level that's all they ever were. Enjoy them while you can.

Attention Bloggers

Doing site maintenance today. Posts will be forthcoming, but the Mrs presented me with a list today - a carefully done compilation of the outdated links in my blogroll. I've been pretty bad at keeping that updated, time to fix. (And time for a few additional tweaks too. If you see anything funny, don't be alarmed.)

Anyway, somewhere a while back a concept of 'thinkers' and 'linkers' developed in the blogosphere. Everyone is a bit of both but I've been lax in that 'linkers' bit. (ed note - what, you think you're a thinker?!) So it's time to clean house, out with the old, in with the new, etc. etc, etc. Generally I've little time to devote to this sort of thing, but this weekend I'm on it.

Sooo if you'd like a spot on Greyhawk's blogroll (for what that's worth) link this post or leave a comment. I'll stop by. Enter the URL of one of your posts you're especially fond of, perhaps one that's 'under-appreciated' (as my first several hundred posts were), maybe you'll end up one of the new troops on the bootcamp blogroll - intended to be a place for the newly added to reside for a while enjoying added exposure before being tossed to the big blogroll.

Don't be shy. Nothing would make me happier than to be the first person to link to your blog.

Disclaimer - just being honest here: The more times I see your site, the better chance you have of getting linked here. I generally follow trackbacks, referrer logs, TTLB and technorati links to see who's joining me in my conversations. Monologues are no fun.

(Side note, the Onestat sitemeter can't be beat. Click my link above, check the features. Test drive. Note the pull down menu in the upper left corner area, and the listed options below it. I love linking people who have onestat. Get one, they're free.)

Thats how I found Russ, you know. Hi Russ.

Update: And of course, you can report here to sign up for Milblogs or Friends of MilBlogs - an instant link or two from me. And I also have the automatic reciprocal blogroll, for those using blogrolling.

While I'm at it, if you haven't signed on to TTLB, you might want to think about that too.

Update: What do you mean, you don't have a blog?

For your Enjoyment

Audio and video of Kerry's '71 testimony is here.

Download. Burn to CDs. Give 'em to your friends.

I would suggest sending copies to the troops in Iraq, but I'm concerned about the negative impact Teresa's Sitzpinkler might have on morale.

Not to mention the shortage of absentee ballots that might ensue.

Vote For Laura Too

This is misguided:

Breaking her silence on criticism of John Kerry's war record by the group Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, Teresa Heinz Kerry said this week that such attacks are undermining the morale of troops currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I believe that discussions or attacks on [my husband's] service undermine the peace of mind not only of Vietnam veterans but of those now fighting for their country," she told the Dayton Daily News.

She believes wrong. Look, lady, veterans attacking your husband is just another form of service to their country, okay? Protecting the Republic is in their blood.

But thanks for expressing your concern for the national defense.

Here Today...

Okay, the sites noted as being down earlier are all up now.

Though suddenly, this guy is down, suppsedly because "it's his birthday".

Awfully convenient.

None the less, in his honor I link something about nanotechnology, in the name of freedom!

And no, I don't understand it.

Update: Taranto, trying to get into the act, links porn. Lots of other things there look familiar too... (Good stuff, go read, all ye who miss Instapundit)

Don't Panic

As of this post, My War has had all archives pulled. I can think of several reasons for this, not all of which involve suppressing free speech.

And Sgt Hook's blog is MIA.

Developing.

Update: Problems with the WWW? A disturbance in the force? Since there are two sites I'm unable to reach today, could there be some common cause?

Update 2: Okay, now panic.

Update 3 Okay, I've heard from Hook and from someone who is in touch with CB. Both are fine. The military is not now nor has it ever been suppressing blogs. Please note the title of this post.

Now, if we can just get Michele back in action... (Kidding, kid. Recharge that spirit, flush the system, see you soon. And stop by anytime - glad to see you weren't blocked by porn filters.)

A Deal Being Struck?

In blog terms, this is old news (or not news):

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on Wednesday renewed his call for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign and urged President Bush to appoint an independent investigation to provide reforms after a report faulted all levels of the military for abuse at Abu Ghraib prison.

But a new rumor states that the SecDef might be willing to respond to that demand, on one condition:

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld likely will step down in mid-2005 if President Bush wins re-election.

Sounds like a workable compromise. How about it, Senator?

Metrics

From the Washington Post

Despite Kerry's courting, veterans say they trust President Bush more than Kerry as commander in chief, 56 percent to 38 percent, according to a report released yesterday by the University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey.

But don't be quick to blame the Swift vets.

In interviews this week, local veterans said their opinion of John Kerry -- for better or for worse -- was forged long ago and has not been affected by ads accusing Kerry of lying about his wartime record.

As may have been mentioned here before, none of this is new to veterans, who are now mounting a furious campaign to overcome claims made about them from the Senate floor in 1971 and from the Fleet Center in 2004.

But of course, you'll have to scroll past the claims of the campaign spokesman to the final paragraphs of the story to find quotes like these:

Christopher E. Braun, a veteran and real estate executive in Herndon, said he is "still a little funny about Kerry's antiwar stance following his return. I don't like how he turned his back on vets when he came back. But that's not the reason why I'm not voting for him."

Unfortunately the Post declined to print Mr Braun's reason.

But for Jim Grummons, a Korean War veteran and commander of VFW Post 7327 in Springfield, Kerry's "downfall was in going against the Vietnam War. He went with Hanoi Jane, and that ticked a lot of veterans off."

Other Vietnam veterans cited Kerry's testimony in 1971 before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he listed war crimes and atrocities that he said were committed by U.S. troops in Vietnam. It is Kerry's testimony that is the subject of the latest advertisement by the swift boat veterans.

"He should have never gone there," said Desi Arnaiz, a leader of Vietnam Veterans of America Battlefield Lodge 617 in Woodbridge. "I was not a baby killer: I didn't rape. I didn't do any of that stuff."

But the real question is, can the Swift vets convince enough American voters of that claim?

Why it Matters Today

The Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal calls forth questions over the American War in Viet Nam: "How were captured US troops treated?" and "How did the Americans treat the Vietnamese?"
<...>
In fact, like in any of the dozens of countries they invaded, it was the Americans who perpetrated well-documented atrocities in Viet Nam, both at the individual and mass levels.
<...>
But despite these abuses, the Vietnamese did not reciprocate in kind; instead, they treated captured US troops humanely.
<...>
Candidate in this year’s American presidential elections, John Kerry, who fought in the war, went further in his criticism. In a statement to the US’ Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in 1971, he said the war crimes committed by US soldiers in Southeast Asia "were not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command."

Vietnam News, "The National English Language Daily", June 11 2004

Update: As of 11:36 UTC the link has vanished, and not even a google cache is to be found. A Free Republic post does include the full text.

Not to fan the conspiracy flames but The Corner had linked the same story above. That sent a noticable number of readers there, I'm sure. The time of day I linked was unlikely for server overload (but perhaps likely for site maintenance). No great conspiracy story here, just an item of interest, one of those things that makes you go hmmmm...

Update 2: Problems with the WWW? A disturbance in the force? Commenters report mixed results. Since there are two sites I'm unable to reach today, could there be some common cause?

Unless You Were There

Jonah,

You don't have to be a military guy or a surgeon to know that Frank Burns was a jerk.

It's On

Uh oh - trouble brewing. I foresee Glenn sending Smash to Blackfive's place with a letter...

And man, note the speed of the blogosphere.

No Pundit Intended

Another danged Cowboy Republican MilBlog type.

With another letter from a Vietnam veteran. I reckon y'all oughta go read that.

Tell 'em the king a' porn sent ya. Welcome to the MilBlogs ring, pard'.

Cole Update

Ironically, when this incident took place, it was somewhat obscurred by a presidential election. Likely this update will go unnoticed.

Yemen's former interior minister helped the alleged mastermind of the attack on the U.S. destroyer Cole to pass through security checkpoints in the months leading up to the 2000 bombing, according to a document read aloud in court Wednesday by a defense lawyer for five of the suspects.

<...>

Yemen tolerated Islamic extremists for many years, but after the Sept. 11 attacks its government cracked down on militants and aligned itself with the U.S.-led war on terrorism. It has received U.S. military aid, such as counter-terrorism training for its soldiers.

Seventeen American sailors were killed in the attack. Many consider the lack of immediate response to be a key American failure in preventing 911.

By the way, why is it always a "mastermind"?

Well I Never...

After all the hours I spend deleting porn spam!?

Go ahead, smart guys. Comment away.

Update: I mean, golly Miss Lane, I even deleted the curse words from the Kerry quotes!

Update 2: I bow to popular demand (sigh)

More here:

Update 3: You know, it starts out simple, then before you know it.. .

Update 4: Sample chapters? It's from last year! Gentlemen, we must allow the healing to begin!

Tired of the Olympics?

Via the Corner: C-SPAN will air the entire 1971 testimony of a young and very radical John Kerry before the Fulbright committee at 8 Eastern time.

Yes, the video.

Live feed available here. The warm up act will be the Swift vets ad.

Update: Another Swift ad. Max, you still in Crawford?

By the way, Gardner's a liar. It wasn't Kerry's boat, it belonged to the Navy, and the taxpayers. And what about the dog?

More MilBlogs Chatter

(See Previous entry here.)

The NPR post has vanished from My War. And from Hook's, but he knows not why.

Chap notes that NPR broke opsec.

It really is close to Plamegate, but it's just an Army corporal that might get killed and hey, think about the great followup story they could do: "Simpsons Bus Driver Killed in Unpopular War - Film at 11"

Stay safe CB.

Lex offers on-target wisdom . He notes "And if the army was anything like the Navy, it wouldn't be hard to find a creative, intelligent, discontent soul who thought the entire amalgamation of organization, mission and leadership was a bunch of horse fewmets". CB isn't like that, but the "bad apple" theory is worth mentioning. I can think of recent newsworthy examples of military types whose blogs I'd rather not read.

And an Army Wife offers a completely different perspective. One that's not subject to the UCMJ.

In the Mail

I can't resist providing the poets a platform.

Keep up the good work on your blog. I salute all those noble silent heroes. I wrote this for them.

REAL HEROES, THEY DON’T BRAG

When Uncle Sam said, "I want you" they answered their country’s call
Left their homes and families and vowed to give their all
They fought battles and won victories and came home from the war
With some wounds you couldn’t see and put their medals in a drawer
They thought of buddies they had lost and were haunted by those scenes
That inhabited their memories and frequented their dreams
But they got jobs and raised families while their stories stayed untold
They were your neighbor or repairman, someone just down the road
Let us thank God for their sacrifice each time we unfurl our flag
You won’t hear them boast about it ‘cause real heroes they don’t brag

Sue Ikerd
August 21, 2004

Thanks Sue.

New Olympic Sport

Medal Tossing. Why not?

History, Creative Writing, Literature...

Back to school time is here! It's called Social Studies now, but history can still be fun. See if you don't agree.

Jim Walker brings our attention to a quote from a previously linked story:

I believe we need to reclaim the kind of citizenship. It's a citizenship seared into me 30 years ago when I served with a band of brothers in Vietnam. We were all living together, working together, taking care of each other, kids from Arkansas, Iowa, California, Massachusetts, and a young African American gunner by the name of David Alston, from South Carolina. Color, religion, background, all of it just melted away into an understanding that we were 'Americans.' It shouldn't have to take a war to remind us understand that we're all in this together.

"...all in this together..." 'two America's' - whatever. 'Band of Brothers' though - that's catchy. But hey, once seared you just don't forget.

Next: Creative Writing 101: I think this from another entry into the Fan Fiction series. It's getting hard to tell:

As PCF-94 twisted and turned up the river, its crew occasionally losing sight of the other Swifts around the waterway's sharp turns, the Special Forces captain in the pilothouse with Kerry glanced at him knowingly as he intently scrutinized the banks for any sign of movement. But none appeared, in part because the mangroves rose so thick about them on both sides that they could barely see through them. "[Deleted], they can hear us coming for miles," the captain pointed out, "and I can't remember any [expleteve deleted] thing in the history of war that runs like this -- taking friendly boats smack into VC territory so that they can be shot at." Then, "with a sigh that said '[expletive deleted],'" as Kerry put it, the captain returned to staring out the pilothouse door.

It's by Doug Brinkley. The latest version of John Kerry's final mission in Vietnam. (Warning to parents: The expletives aren't deleted in the linked piece, you get the candidate's original language. Not for kids!) Enjoy.

Now good fiction is called literature. And the Band of Brothers thing is from Shakespeare, his dramatized account of Henry V is a fine example; history with a touch of fiction, the result is art. Here's the quote:

Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made
And crowns for convoy put into his purse:
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.

Oops - wrong passage. Well, it's there somewhere. And for those parents looking for a good story with a useful moral for their kids, try this one.

It Ain't Over!

The fat lady hasn't sung. (But Moby's warming up.)

The Kerry campaign has found 29 Republicans who now support him. Perhaps they'll make dramatic videos explaining how they feel Bush betrayed them?

Also see here. I don't think they'll get these guys on board.

One returns Another Waits

Doc in the Box, now out of the box.

An American Soldier, in the land of heat and sand.

Letters Letters Letters...

Doesn't anybody trust the US postal service any more?

In a highly publicized photo-op, Cleland traveled to President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, to deliver a letter from nine senators calling on the president to repudiate the activities of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which has been running ads questioning Kerry's Vietnam War record.

Cleland was met at the ranch by Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, a Republican elected official and Vietnam veteran, who tried to give the former senator a letter addressed to Kerry, accusing him of using his military service for political gain.

"You can't have it both ways," said the letter, signed by Patterson and six other veterans including two Medal of Honor recipients and a former North Vietnamese prisoner of war. "You can't build your convention and much of your campaign around your service in Vietnam, and then try to say that only those veterans who agree with you have a right to speak up. There is no double standard for our right to free speech. We all earned it."

Cleland was not able to deliver his letter nor would he accept the letter Patterson tried to give him.

And here it is:

Letter to John Kerry

August 25, 2004

Senator John Kerry
304 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Kerry,

We are pleased to welcome your campaign representatives to Texas today. We honor all our veterans, all whom have worn the uniform and served our country. We also honor the military and National Guard troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan today. We are very proud of all of them and believe they deserve our full support.

That’s why so many veterans are troubled by your vote AGAINST funding for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, after you voted FOR sending them into battle. And that’s why we are so concerned about the comments you made AFTER you came home from Vietnam. You accused your fellow veterans of terrible atrocities – and, to this day, you have never apologized. Even last night, you claimed to be proud of your post-war condemnation of our actions.

We’re proud of our service in Vietnam. We served honorably in Vietnam and we were deeply hurt and offended by your comments when you came home.

You can’t have it both ways. You can’t build your convention and much of your campaign around your service in Vietnam, and then try to say that only those veterans who agree with you have a right to speak up. There is no double standard for our right to free speech. We all earned it.

You said in 1992 “we do not need to divide America over who served and how.” Yet you and your surrogates continue to criticize President Bush for his service as a fighter pilot in the National Guard.

We are veterans too – and proud to support President Bush. He’s been a strong leader, with a record of outstanding support for our veterans and for our troops in combat. He’s made sure that our troops in combat have the equipment and support they need to accomplish their mission.

He has increased the VA health care budget more than 40% since 2001 – in fact, during his four years in office, President Bush has increased veterans funding twice as much as the previous administration did in eight years ($22 billion over 4 years compared to $10 billion over 8.) And he’s praised the service of all who served our country, including your service in Vietnam.

We urge you to condemn the double standard that you and your campaign have enforced regarding a veteran’s right to openly express their feelings about your activities on return from Vietnam.

Sincerely,

Texas State Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson
Rep. Duke Cunningham
Rep. Duncan Hunter
Rep. Sam Johnson
Lt. General David Palmer
Robert O'Malley, Medal of Honor Recipient
James Fleming, Medal of Honor Recipient
Lieutenant Colonel Richard Castle (Ret.)

Update: Another owie! If Purple Hearts were given for minor campaign wounds John Kerry could claim much more than three, and certainly no one would blame him for backing out of the race.

Ouch! Part 47

I'm told this web site might be interesting, when it goes live. Perhaps someone will complain loudly at the Ranch tomorrow.

Update: It's live now.

Thanks for the Memories

From the USS Gridley home page, financed as all such efforts are; the vets pass the hat among themselves:

GRIDLEY already has a bank account with $490 in it. We don't need much, any size donation would be appreciated. There will be an accounting for the money posted on the site. Total expenses so far have been $323.00 to register the www.ussgridley.com name and that is up for renewal in the end of May each year.

Keith Ott $100
Cliff Tejada $100
Wayne Hoppke $100
Phil Carter $323
Tom Pendergast $25
Kevin Reilly $40
Rich Aamodt $25

Guess they aren't getting any of that big Ketchup money.

Update (hat tip Jim Walker): Once again, I leap to the rescue of John Kerry. This time, it's James Taranto questioning our hero's patriotism!!!!:

Another Seared--Seared--Memory From a John Kerry speech commemorating Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 20, 2003:

I remember well April 1968--I was serving in Vietnam--a place of violence--when the news reports brought home to me and my crewmates the violence back home--and the tragic news that one of the bullets flying that terrible spring took the life of that unabashedly maladjusted citizen.

In fact, Kerry did not go to Vietnam until November 1968.

Why if that were so, then our hero's bio would be a lie. That first tour in Vietnam was on the Gridley of course. It's right on his home page:

John Kerry enlisted in the Navy in 1966. After completing Naval Officer Candidates School, he began his first tour of duty on the USS Gridley, a guided-missile frigate in the waters adjacent to Vietnam.

See James, it all depends on what your definition of the word "in" is. Now, admittedly little is made of this nearly forgotten first tour. Most likely the young Ensign could not afford a movie camera at that time.

Not so any more. Hey, Senator, how about matching Rich or Tom on that 25 large?

It's Over

It's over.

There's a joke about a race here somewhere, but if Tim Blair didn't touch it then I won't either.

And yes, Tony George ruined Indy. It's obvious from that far away?

Band of Brothers

Yes, that was me.

A military unit gains its own "individuality". The team becomes a whole, stronger than the individual parts. That bond, that unity, is a powerful thing that transcends any other loyalty. That Kerry understood that concept at one point in time is not so far fetched.

That he then broke that faith is why so many are so willing to do so much to stop him now.

Update: Rush Limbaugh, (yes - I know) interviewed John O'Neill and provides a rather lengthy segment of audio on line.

Give it a listen. He's motivated, there's no doubt about that. He was recovering from surgery (he donated a kidney) when he formed SBVFT, and the profits from the book have been donated to charity.

RUSH: You're going to outsell Bill Clinton before this is all over. You might outsell Hillary Clinton before this is all over.

O'NEILL: And if it does, that will be a great thing because people will pick up an awful lot of information from this, and also will generate a nice royalty check for an awfully nice charity.

RUSH: Which is?

O'NEILL: I'm not sure if I should say, but what we've offered is, I've offered my total royalty interest in this to the Navy and Marine Corps Relief, which is the organization that aids --

RUSH: Children?

O'NEILL: -- families of people that are killed, servicemen --

Damn Republicans.

Update 2: Yes, Rush is a bit over the top, but O'Neill handles that well, just as he did being stepped on by previous interviewers.

An Open Letter to Senator John McCain from a Vietnam Veteran

Senator McCain,

I begin this missive with an embrazo, as we call it here in Texas, for your service to our country, as a warrior, as a prisoner of war and as a United States Senator. You have served far better and endured far more in the service of America than most men will ever do. For that, this old sergeant salutes you.

That said, as a Vietnam ground combat veteran, I must take issue with you on the situation of John Kerry and the Swift Boat Veterans. You have labeled these men ?dishonest and dishonorable,? and that, Sir, is nothing more than your opinion based on no direct knowledge of the events they dispute. For you to so condemn these men publicly, without any firsthand knowledge of John Kerry?s performance in their midst and under their professional observation, is unfair to them and all veterans who share their view that John Kerry is unfit to command. Who was best qualified to evaluate you as a naval aviator, those senior officers who flew with you or the enlisted men who serviced your aircraft? Who had the experience, training and knowledge to make a professional military judgment of your performance in the air, the trained naval aviators on your wing or the enlisted flight crew back on the carrier? Certainly the enlisted men were vital in performing the mission but observing and rating your performance was not their role.

It is my understanding that you originally shared our animosity towards John Kerry, but during your senatorial service, you came to know him more personally and chose to forgive him for his labeling you a war criminal. That you are able to forgive a man even though he had denounced you and your fellow aviators as you languished in North Vietnamese prisons, with your captors using his testimony to try to break your will, is truly commendable. I admire you for your ability to turn the other cheek. However, I must point out that your forgiveness of John Kerry is purely personal and imposes not one iota of obligation to forgive him on those of us who still consider him contemptible.

You carry no mandate to speak for us. Your personal feelings are yours and yours alone; but, emphatically, you do not speak for us. You spoke up to defend your friend and your friend has turned your words into talking points. It is truly reprehensible how the Kerry campaign and the mainstream media are hiding so cynically behind your condemnation of the Swiftvets, using your statement as an excuse to dismiss their claims as baseless, smear politics. Honestly, Senator, did you really intend to provide this kind of cover for those who are so desperate to prevent the truth from coming out?

With all do respect, since you weren?t there to observe John Kerry first hand as were these Swiftvets, may I humbly suggest that the honorable thing for you to do, is to stay out of this fight and allow them and us to have our voice. Moreover, there is one thing you could do to level the playing field: acknowledge that you have no true knowledge of events the Swiftvets describe and that your immediate condemnation of these men was premature. Call on the mainstream media to investigate all parties fairly and determine whose version of events is true. I understand John Kerry is your friend, but that places him neither beyond accountability nor above the truth. You have a unique ability at this moment in America?s history to make a difference. You have long been a dutiful warrior and servant of the people.

Please, do your duty now.

Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66

I would request that all who agree with the sentiments expressed here copy this letter and send it to:

http://mccain.senate.gov/

Another Comes Home

MilBlogger Sean, from Doc in the Box, is home from over there.

Welcome back.

With Friends Like That...

NPR offers a misguided and condescending look at MilBlogs - specifically "My War".

Do not mistake what follows for any attempt on my part to speak on behalf of CB. He speaks for himself quite well. I will also mention "the Army" throughout this discussion. Note that "the Army" is a large group of individuals. Long years of experience have led me to this fact: An individual in the Army is usually responsible for all complaints targeted at the institution. Since I've no idea what specific individuals might think on this topic I will use the generic "the Army".

There are obvious problems with the NPR story:

1. Moments after we hear from the real blogger, (audio available at above link) they play a "dramatization" of one of his entries, read by someone CBFTW describes as an "f-ing weirdo" that sounds like "the bus driver from the Simpsons". Dude, like, you know, they sooo tooootally wanted you to be something that yer not. You B You, man, UBU. Rock on. Peace out.

2. In conjunction with the false dead beat dope smoking under achieving moron that had to join the Armyimage, they portray CB as someone 'reporting the truth about an increasingly unpopular war'. While a recent bombardment of campaign speeches and media coverage may be eroding support for the troops, I would guess "the Army" is well aware of the positive PR they were getting from My War. But this is not a political issue - its a military one. The lives of a lot of people are at risk, and CB's command shoulders that burden. Were they to not monitor the communications once they were aware of them they would be negligent, at least, likely derelict in their duties, and responsible for the results.

"The Army" wants him to continue blogging. Believe me, "the Army" could more easily issue a blanket gag order and shut down all MilBlogs - most likely there are voices calling for that. In years past that would have been the instant response. That they haven't done so speaks well for a new mentality at the top. Perhaps the same mentality that led to "embedded reporters" in the thunder run - but I'm speculating.

3. What seems apparent to me is that CB has now been "outed". "The Army" now has a new and different problem. Can they use him in the capacity for which he was trained - the service he wants to perform? Heaven forbid anything happen to him, but what would the same morons crying about "the Army" trying to silence him say if he were hurt?

A sticky issue, to say the least, but really a new version of an old problem. My grandfather wrote letters home to my grandmother in WWI (yes - one). The ones I've seen were censored. War is Hell. The people who read those letters prior to sending them knew my grandfather wouldn't intentionally violate security, and they read every letter he wrote. The military is trying to come to grips with a new age. For every MilBlogger out there that I know of, there are probably at least ten I don't. For every one of those there are a thousand more GIs writing home on the internet; IM, e-mail, personal web pages or otherwise.

I see two likely options:

1. Trust 'em or bust 'em: Train thoroughly, monitor closely, punish those who violate opsec.

2. Flip the comm switch "off".

I propose option one. But I'm biased.

And here's what the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs said to Hugh Hewitt:

Hewitt: General Myers, I have very narrow question. A lot of us who use the internet for a living and blog for a living are interested in this. There are a lot of military bloggers out there. Individual active duty servicemen and women who put their thoughts, their impressions of their duty stations and the world around them on the internet on MilBlogs. What's your opinion of that? I love them. I hope you keep them, but what's the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff think about those?

General Myers: You know, I don't see that many of them, but based on this conversation Hugh, I will see more of them (laugh). I think, you know, when you get to the four-star level, you fight to get information from the troops and you don't want to be a victim of just getting fed what the staff brings you every day. The way you work that is through the internet as you just mentioned or you visit places. You go to Iraq, you go to Afghanistan and you try and get down to the individual soldier, airmen, sailor, Marine level, coastguardsmen duty, civilian and look them in the eye and say, "How's it going?" and establish enough rapport that they'll tell you, and at my level it's a constant fight to make sure that you get the straight skinny. I think it's a good idea that I plug into some of those too in my spare time.

Ironically, the General, like the rest of us, will now have to read CB through the filter of his immediate command.

War is hell.

(Hewitt quote via Chapomatic).

Update: Nathan at Brain Fertilizer offers this:

To tell the truth, I am far more disturbed that the USAF (and maybe the rest of the military, dunno), totally blocks access to the portal mail servers (Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL). Even worse, they don't warn you before you deploy. It can be a significant morale hit to not be able to receive email or even be able to tell someone you won't be able to read their email until you return...

Will have to look into that. Anyone else have this problem?

Meanwhile, Darth VOB offers this:

I'd like to offer some advice to deployed milbloggers. This is roughly the same advice I've been giving soldiers about to deploy for the last year and a half. In that time, as part of my duties in the J6 (Information Management / Operations) for the Ohio Army National Guard, I've briefed soldiers on the benefits and use of AKO - Army Knowledge Online, the Army's web portal. One of the points I make is that if you want to share a photo or a story, don't do so on MSN, Yahoo IM, or standard email unless you are comfortable with it being on the fr