Hugh - this is huge. I have been outraged all day. Gen. Casey is aiding and abetting our enemies in Congress. The milblogs keep us informed, hopeful, and optimistic. This is a moronic self-inflicted defeat in the information war. It demoralizes the troops and us who support the President despite rising opposition to the war.
I wrote to the President this morning. We need a petition to get him to rescind this stupidity. |
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I hate to sound so paranoid, and it is always easier to think that general stupidity (pun intended) is responsible for this, but just which General promulgated this idiotic order? Who apointed him?
We do know that every war brings about a winnowing of desktop leadership and this war will be no exception. That said, if this is a Cintonista general, it would appear to be an attempt to sway information flow in the upcoming election. |
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Hugh,
In appealing to the Administration 'bridges' such as Tony Snow, pro-victory Congressional reps., and military leaders, it should be emphasized that the terrorist recruiters are making powerful use of the internet to RECRUIT a cadre of youth for future terror operations. We should be pouring even MORE resources into brainstorming and vigorously developing new-media strategies at all levels to truthfully celebrate the sacrificial heroism and goodness of our soldiers, and of their necessary cause. Otherwise, we cannot effectively engage and RECRUIT our youth to defend our Nation and its values. Wise promotion of milblogging is a vital component of this 'infostruggle.' |
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and approval being required of certain information, but shut down? It seems counter productive. |
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I'd like to know who did it
General Disaster?
Stupid Stupid Stupid!
How stupid? Rock-hard stupid. Dehydrated-rock-hard stupid. Stupid so stupid that it goes way beyond the stupid we know into a whole different dimension of stupid. Trans-stupid stupid, Meta-stupid. Stupid collapsed on itself so far that even the neutrons have collapsed. Stupid gotten so dense that no intellect can escape. Singularity stupid. Blazing hot mid-day sun on Mercury stupid.
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http://www.mudvillegazette.com/milblogs/2007/05/03/#008693
Guidelines and Reading the Reg...
[ArmyLawyer]
By its terms, the new OPSEC regulation does not require approval of all communications beforehand, rather, the obligation is to consult. But as Noah's article points out, the proponent doesn't envision all communications to be monitored nor would it be practical to do so. When a regulation's proponent gives you that kind of guidance, you hang your hat on it.
But even without that, the guidelines still place the authority (or burden) on the commander. Commanders are as varied as snowflakes. Will some lean too far forward and say "no blogs"? Yes. but they could have done that before. While a commander may technically say "No Myspace" "No Ebay" and "No AKO forum posting" they are not obligated to do so under the regulation and, truth be told, commanders that ARE so lacking in common sense probably have other concerns within their units.
By analogy, on the non-deployed side, a commander has every right to revoke your pass privileges and doesn't need much of a reason to do so (if any). Do some commanders do this? Sure. Does it happen often? No. But the authority is there and hasn't proven a widespread problem.
Also, bear in mind that very little of this reg applies to online postings. This is not the Army's "Blogger Regulation." It's the OPSEC reg. This update simply attempts to incorporate into an earlier scheme new technology like blogs and other online public fora.
How does it do on that front? Well, while paragraph 2-1g(1)--the blogger provision--requires consultation before posting information to an online forum. What kind of information are we talking about? The reg defines the information that is to be protected in paragraph 1-5 as Critical Information or Sensitive Information.
Indeed, paragraph 2-1g(2)--immediately following the blogger provision of g(1) states: that they will advise personnel to ensure that sensitive and critical information is not to be disclosed. One of the duties of DA personnel is to know what their unit considers critical and sensitive information.
For example, is my posting on having recently having purchased a Nintendo Wii considered critical information? No. Could it be considered sensitive information? I can't conceive of how. My reading of the reg would be then I wouldn't be required to "consult" with my OPSEC officer prior to posting about my Nintendo Wii, or the latest Dodgers score, as I am presumed to know what sort of information is both critical and sensitive.
Accordingly, taking the author's position that it's impractical to monitor EVERY communication, the most rational reading is that it's for those grey areas where one is not sure if it's an OPSEC issue is where the obligation to consult comes in. And that's where personnel are advised that sensitive/critical info is not to be disclosed.
But suppose I'm wrong, suppose the obligation to consult applies to ALL information. That's where the common sense factor comes in. As your OPSEC officer most likely won't be doing "all OPSEC all the time," he won't be able to consult with every posting in a public forum (AKO forums? Fantasy Baseball?). Will a command thereby ban ALL such postings? Possibly. Will such a goofball decision be upheld by higher authority? Maybe.
But beyond the perennial "I'm the commander so eff off" form of persuasion, how widespread will such blanket denouncements be? Not very, in my opinion. Because for every story about details about the number of pizzas ordered at the Pentagon being considered OPSEC sensitive there are tens of thousands of similar disclosures that are not. Some ideas are too stupid even for the military to adopt. Your mileage and command may vary.
Where does that leave us? Commands with even a modicum of foresight can cure these concerns with a simple OPSEC policy memo that delineates what is considered critical and sensitive information and lay out the procedures for when "consultation" is required. Considering the infinite scope of information potentially encompassed by para 2-1g(1), I expect most will be more related to actual OPSEC matters and not pizza deliveries, and thereby leave the vast majority of milblogging intact.
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...The MilBlog shutdown came from Senator Reid's office (with pressure from other high-level Democrat offices in the Senate and House). It is being used to shut down the soldiers side of the debate after their reaction to Reid's "The War is Lost" comment.
Can someone explain to me again how the Democrats, the party that shut down Imus, re-create the "Fairness Doctrine", is a defender of Free Speech? |
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Do you have a source or link for that? Thanks |
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That if you have time to spend hours ranting to Chuck Chickenhawk in East Butthole, Alabama, you have time to do something useful.
Sorry, shrubbies, but amateur hour has finally been cancelled.
And glad to see that WeSuckYouLose is b=doing only a third of the "business" of your last failed petition. Keep trying, Hugh! You're an inspiration to liberals everywhere- you inspire us to ROTFLOL. |
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No...my sources are only a phone call away on CapHill. No letters were written, it was an open secret among the Dem staff that they could not have the soldiers contridict the "War is Lost" mentality of the Left. |
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