Army Censors Soldiers’ Blogs

In a move that is not terribly surprising, Wired reports that “the U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior officer.”

This is nothing new.

The military has been censoring snail-mail since World War II in an effort to keep classified information out of enemy hands.

Blogs and e-mail sent from soldiers who are in a combat zone should be subject to the same restrictions.

This is not a violation of free speech, as many people believe, but a matter of safety.

Imagine what could happen if an al-Qaeda operative read a blog posting that mentioned the blogger’s recent activities, or more importantly their future plans. Even an oblique reference could be enough to tip off the enemy to some future activity.

The enemy could also use photographs posted to blog entries to decipher the layout of a military installation or locate a specific unit. Law enforcement and the military do this exact same thing, so why shouldn’t the terrorists?

While I agree that censoring blogs could silence the important voice of the combat zone soldier, I believe that their safety is more important.

That being said, I feel that the new directive is too restrictive because it also includes soldier’s families. Does this mean that the content of every blog and e-mail written by a family member must be approved by the soldiers’ commanding officer?

Just imagine a grizzled Army officer having to approve the cooking recipe that Grandma Mary is sending to her friends and family.

How ridiculous.

I believe that censoring the e-mail and blog posting of combat zone soldiers is a matter of security. However, placing the same restrictions on civilian family members is inappropriate and absurd.