These days, the Pentagon hosts a weekly conference call for bloggers that has recently featured Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, Command Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey J. Mellinger and Ambassador Daniel Speckhard. All of the calls are recorded and posted online -- making the military’s interaction with bloggers completely transparent and accessible to anyone who wants to listen.

But it’s the use of video that has really transformed the military’s outreach to the blogosphere. A wide range of videos -- from interviews with Secretary Robert Gates to clips from press conferences -- are posted at DODvClips.mil.

Meanwhile, the Multi-National Force in Iraq has gone one step further, setting up its own YouTube channel. Though up and running for only a little over a month, its videos of combat action already have made it one of the most popular channels on YouTube. A video of a battle on Haifa Street in Baghdad has 175,000 views, rivaling the daytime audience of cable news stations.

The success of the Multi-National Force’s videos prompted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Gulf Region Division to set up its own YouTube channel. While it’s not nearly as popular in terms of views, it does have twice as many videos. The focus is also entirely different. It’s here where you can learn about the new clinic in Dahuk, a refurbished sewage station in Karkh and construction of school in Batel.

All of these initiatives add up to the military’s new communications approach to the war. And the Department of Defense isn’t acting alone. Both the White House and State Department have beefed up interaction with bloggers, bypassing the mainstream media and giving the American people direct access to an unprecedented amount of information.