[net-gold] Secrecy News -- 07/09/10
- From: "David P. Dillard" <jwne@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Net-Gold <Net-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Temple University Net-Gold Archive <net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Temple Gold Discussion Group <TEMPLE-GOLD@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Net-Gold <net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Sean Grigsby <myarchives1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Educator Gold <Educator-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Educator Gold <Educator-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, K12AdminLIFE <K12AdminLIFE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Net-Platinum <net-platinum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "Net-Gold @ Nabble" <ml-node+3172864-337556105@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, MediaMentor <mediamentor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Digital Divide Diversity MLS <mls-digitaldivide@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, NetGold <netgold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 9 Jul 2010 17:14:37 -0400 (EDT)
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Date: Fri, 9 Jul 2010 09:37:49 -0400
From: Steven Aftergood <saftergood@xxxxxxx>
To: Steven Aftergood <saftergood@xxxxxxx>
Subject: Secrecy News -- 07/09/10 (alt list)
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2010, Issue No. 56
July 9, 2010
Secrecy News Blog:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
** SECDEF DEFENDS NEW POLICY ON LIMITING MEDIA ACCESS
** ARMY STRESSES "ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS" IN MIL OPS
SECDEF DEFENDS NEW POLICY ON LIMITING MEDIA ACCESS
"I have grown increasingly concerned that we have become too lax,
disorganized, and, in some cases, flat-out sloppy in the way we engage with
the press," said Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, explaining why he had
issued new guidance to regulate Pentagon interactions with the news media.
The new guidance, issued on July 2, requires advance notification and
coordination with DoD Public Affairs before a Department official can speak
to the media on a story that may have any "national or international
implications."
http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/dod/media.pdf
In the absence of such controls, Gates said at a July 8 press briefing,
"personal views have been published as official government positions, and
information has gone out that was inaccurate, incomplete or lacking in
proper context. Reports and other documents, including on sensitive
subjects, are routinely provided to the press and other elements in this
town before I or the White House know anything about them. Even more
worrisome, highly classified and sensitive information has been divulged
without authorization or accountability."
"My hope and expectation is that this new guidance will improve the quality
of press engagement by ensuring that the people the media talk to can speak
with accuracy and authority. This should not infringe or impede the flow of
accurate and timely information to you or to the public. That is not my
intent, nor will I tolerate it."
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2010/07/dod070810.html
Despite the Secretary's assurance, however, it seems practically certain
that the new guidance will significantly impede the flow of information to
the press and will complicate the already difficult task of probing beneath
the official surface of events.
The Gates memorandum seems to reflect a view of the press as a conduit for
"official government positions" that are "authorized" and placed "in proper
context." But everyone knows that the most interesting and important news
stories often begin with unofficial and unauthorized statements that are
lacking in context and may even be inaccurate. It is the reporter's job to
validate them, assess their significance, place them in context and
communicate them, and if the results appear "before I or the White House
know anything about them," so much the better.
That is what the Washington Post did in its series on neglect of veterans'
health at Walter Reed Hospital, and that is what USA Today did in its
reporting on the casualties resulting from delayed acquisition of MRAP
armored vehicles.
Secretary Gates knows this, and he acknowledged the importance of those
particular stories. "The reality is, stories in the press, and you've heard
me say this before -- whether it was the stories on the treatment of
outpatient wounded warriors at Walter Reed in The Washington Post or stories
about MRAPs in USA Today -- have been a spur to action for me in various
areas," he said.
But the key point is that those stories did not emerge from authorized
interviews or official accounts. They had to be pieced together from
partial, incomplete and unauthorized sources. That's one of the things that
made them great.
"If everybody's following the spirit and the letter of the memo," an astute
but unidentified reporter asked Secretary Gates, "are you confident that
stories like stories about the MRAP and the Walter Reed problems would
emerge the way they did?"
"Actually, I am," Secretary Gates said at yesterday's press briefing, "and
it's largely because of my confidence in the persistence and the skills of
the people sitting in front of me." But now that persistence and those
skills will also be needed to penetrate the new barriers that the Gates memo
has created.
If the Pentagon genuinely valued groundbreaking news stories that could
serve as a corrective "spur to action," then it would inquire into the
specific conditions of access and disclosure that makes them possible, and
it would then seek to foster those conditions more broadly throughout the
Department. That does not seem to be the likely outcome of the new DoD
guidance on interaction with the media.
The July 2 Gates memo (which was first reported by the New York Times) also
declared categorically that "Leaking of classified information is against
the law, cannot be tolerated, and will, when proven, lead to the prosecution
of those found to be engaged in such activity."
On July 5, Pfc. Bradley E. Manning was charged with the unauthorized
transfer and disclosure of classified records, including the classified
video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad that was posted online
in April of this year by the WikiLeaks web site.
http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2010/07/manning070510.pdf
Secretary Gates said that he was not familiar with the underlying
investigation of the Manning case or whether it constituted a serious
breach, and that he had not determined whether remedial security measures
were needed.
ARMY STRESSES "ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS" IN MIL OPS
In the planning of military operations, the U.S. Army is giving new emphasis
to the environmental impact of its activities.
"Environmental considerations need to be integrated into the conduct of
operations at all levels of command," according to a recent Army field
manual. "Planners must consider the effect environmental considerations
have and how they may constrain or influence various actions and decisions."
There is nothing sentimental about the military's focus on environmental
matters. Rather, it indicates a new recognition of the role of
environmental issues in security and stability, as well as operational
effectiveness.
"The military has a new appreciation for the interdependence between
military missions, the global community, and the environment....
[I]nadequate environmental controls can lead to conflicts with neighbors and
can present health concerns to their population and to U.S. military
personnel conducting operations."
"The U.S. national security strategy now includes a focus on environmental
and environmental security concerns. Lasting victories and successful end
states will be measured in part by how well the military addresses
environmental considerations, to include the protection and the conservation
of natural and cultural resources; the improvement of citizens' living
conditions in the affected nations; and FHP [Force Health Protection, i.e.
the health of the soldiers themselves]."
When properly integrated into mission planning, the new manual said,
environmental considerations "serve as force multipliers rather than mission
distracters." See "Environmental Considerations," U.S. Army Field Manual
3-34.5, February 2010:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-34-5.pdf
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation
of American Scientists.
The Secrecy News Blog is at:
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_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@xxxxxxx
voice: (202) 454-4691
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