Too much freedom of the press?

I woke up this morning to a news story that the Special Operations Forces have been in Afghanistan for two weeks. This scares the crap out of me.

I'm not concerned that they're there. I once worked on a defense project for the Special Operations Forces, and I can say, even without asking, that these guys are thrilled to be there. This is what they train for. This is what they wanted to do. And the fact that they're there, it means that the US wants bin Laden but not needless civilian casualties.

But it does scare me, because these guys depend on secrecy. When I was working on that defense project, I often looked at a requirement and said, "That's NUTS! Why would that matter?" The captains would look at me, smile secretively, and say, "That's for us to know. We just want it!"

So here we have the US press blabbing about the fact that the SOF are over there. It makes me ill to think that now the Taliban will be looking for them.

[poseidon]

Grace,

Actually that kind of stuff doesn't worry me. The Pentagon releases information that it wants disseminated. Some of that information might be disinformation for the opposition to hear in order to steer them in the wrong direction or to use their resources elsewhere.

When I was a Journalism major (I double-majored in English and Journalism for two years), we were taught that the First Amendment does not extend to allowing reports of troop movements in time of war. So, as I said, I'm sure this isn't any big deal to the Pentagon otherwise the reporter wouldn't have been granted access to that kind of information.

Jeff

[drmomentum[$]]

I agree with Jeff. (!)

We have no way to verify whether that story is accurate, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is.

Freedom of the press is a fact in this country, a fact that the military has to deal with, and perhaps use to its advantage if at all possible. That use comes from what information it allows to leak to reporters, rather than some government agency vetting stories.

I don't think its to our advantage, ultimately, to have the press working as an extension of the government or of the military.

-JP

[amykhar]

History has been made.

I also agree with Jeff and JP.

Amy

[erik_kosberg]

It makes me ill to think that now the Taliban will be looking for them.

Unless the Taliban were able to bring an overwhelming number of troops to a given location at a given time (given their current internal situation, rather unlikely), the SOF troops would most likely be the victors in any tactical engagement.

I also don’t have a problem with press reports that SOF have been in Afghanistan. It’s not all that surprising of a revelation and it’s not very specific. It’s sort of like saying that the Seventh Fleet has ships in the Indian Ocean.

[vemartin]

Actually, the story first broke in a Pakistani daily, and was picked up by USA Today, just reported on MSNBC and confirmed by a White House source.

And shocker of shockers for only the second time this year I find myself in agreement with Jeff!

I'm looking at the headline on Yahoo News and I see "In hot pursuit" being attributed to the ex-governor of Texas.

I can't decide if we've elected Roscoe P. Coltrane or Buford T. Justice.

I stand by my earlier assessment of the situation and say that if anything good came out of all of this, it's the grounding of all those news helicopters. F- the freedom of the press... that's just downright VOYEURISM!

[poseidon]

Originally posted by file13
I'm looking at the headline on Yahoo News and I see "In hot pursuit" being attributed to the ex-governor of Texas.

I can't decide if we've elected Roscoe P. Coltrane or Buford T. Justice.

I stand by my earlier assessment of the situation and say that if anything good came out of all of this, it's the grounding of all those news helicopters. F- the freedom of the press... that's just downright VOYEURISM!

It's Buford T. Justice, don'tcha know? He was a sheriff from Texarkana, Tx. Roscoe P. Coltrane is a sheriff from Hazzard County, GA. DUH!

Jeff
who unfortunately loved "Dukes of Hazzard" and "Smokey and the Bandit"

[Grouch]

Sec Def Rumsfeld himself addressed this very issue in a press conference on Sept. 25.

Here's a complete transcript

scroll down to where he answers a reporter's question: Mr. Secretary, if I could just follow up, will there be any circumstances, as you prosecute this campaign, in which anyone in the Department of Defense will be authorized to lie to the news media in order to increase the chances of success of a military operation or gain some other advantage over your adversaries?


I agree with Erik. I think saying SOF is in Afghanistan is like saying the sun rose in the East this morning. As part of our military response, that's practically a given. The question remains "What, if anything, have they done so far?" We may never learn the answer to that one.

Originally posted by poseidon
It's Buford T. Justice, don'tcha know? He was a sheriff from Texarkana, Tx. Roscoe P. Coltrane is a sheriff from Hazzard County, GA. DUH!

Not so fast... George W., just like daddy, is a failed oilman wildcatter from Kennebunkport, Maine.

[poseidon]

Originally posted by file13


Not so fast... George W., just like daddy, is a failed oilman wildcatter from Kennebunkport, Maine.

Who is that cartoon County Mountie? It'd be him then!

[pageclot[$]]

The Canadian Minister of Defense was asked (after this story broke) whether any Canadian troops were on the ground in Afghanistan. He responded "None that I can talk about". His office later reported that "he regretted the remark".

So does that mean that they're there, but don't really want it known, or that Art Eggleton (the aforementioned M of D) was trying to exaggerate Canada's role?

Probably the latter. As far as I know, the Canadian army doesn't have a unit to compare to Britain's Special Air Service, or the US Special Forces, that can go in on these Very Long Range patrols.

But there is a sizeable Afghani community in Toronto, and it's possible that CSIS has assets in place over there.

pageclot

[poseidon]

Originally posted by poseidon


Who is that cartoon County Mountie? It'd be him then!

Dudley Do Right.