Not all soldier's Iraq blogs are mouthpieces in support of occupation

[bigtree]

US military finds soldiers' blogs too close for comfort

By Oliver Poole in Baghdad
December 28, 2005

{snips}

>>>>In a development that is worrying US military commanders in Iraq, a growing number of US soldiers - 200 at the last count - have set up their own blogs, or internet diaries, and are updating them from the battlefield.

>>>>It is a phenomenon that has inevitably raised concern among commanders. In April the US military published its first policy memorandum on websites maintained by soldiers, requiring them to have official approval before starting internet postings.

In July the first soldier was punished for publishing information considered sensitive, which includes mention of incidents under investigation or names of servicemen killed or wounded.

Leonard Clark, a National Guardsman, was demoted to private after he had written entries describing the company's commander as a "glory seeker" and the battalion sergeant major an "inhuman monster". His last entry detailed how his fellow soldiers were becoming opposed to the US operation in Iraq.

There was heightened official concern last month when an US web journalist who first aired claims that US troops had used white phosphorous to attack insurgents in Falluja said he had got his information from a blogger.

Mark Kraft, of Livejournal, said one of his sources had subsequently been threatened, demoted and told not to maintain a blog or read or reply to any others.

article:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/us-military-worried-by-soldiers-blogs/2005/12/27/1135445571736.html