Committee to Protect Journalists Says Obama's FOIA Approach Needs "Teeth and Muscles"

The Committee to Protect Journalists says the Obama administration's Open Government Initiative needs "teeth and muscles if the new promise is to produce any better results" than previous administrations.

Citing failures of the military to be forthcoming about various incidents, including the 2007 New Baghdad shooting where U.S. forces fired on Iraqi civilians, killing many, including two Reuters journalists. After the website WikiLeaks posted a classified video online on April 5, the Pentagon posted a redacted assessment of the incident, concluding U.S. troops fired "in accordance with the law of armed conflict and rules of engagement."

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U.S. Military Cannot Find Its Video to Authenticate Leaked Video

A spokesman for U.S. Central Command says the U.S. military cannot find its copy of a video showing two Reuters news agency employees being killed by Army helicopters in 2007. A leaked version of the video circulated the Internet and was posted on Wikileaks.org on the "collateralmurder.com" site.

The video includes audio of troops calling to "light 'em up!" and referring to the men as "dead bastards." An internal investigation concluded the troops acted appropriately, despite mistaking the camera equipment for weapons.

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Obama Delays Release of Historic Military and Intelligence Reports

Despite pledging to expand governmental transparency, President Obama has granted an open-ended extension to agencies for releasing millions of pages of military and intelligence documents that were scheduled to be declassified by the end of the year.

The documents date from World War II to the early 1980s and cover foreign relations, intelligence activities and military operations with the exception of nuclear weapons data.

The Boston Globe reports Obama delayed the release of the historic documents because his administration has been unable to prod spy agencies into conformance with agencies "engaged in turf battles over how documents should be evaluated" and have reviewed only a fraction of the materials to determine if their release would jeopardize national security.

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Pentagon boosts public affairs arm to influence media coverage of war

Alarmingly stuff: "Public affairs officers argue that they are in a battle with insurgents to shape the public perception of the wars they are fighting, and they will use every means available to push the military's version of events." FOIA records show that the Pentagon public office has provided special arrangements, access to friendly, pro-war bloggers. The number of public affairs officers has increased by 24 percent, and since 2003, 11 AP journalists have been detained in Iraq for at least 24 hours by U.S. forces as potential "security threats."

The black-and-white video starts with a mini-van locked in the crosshairs and the sound of a missile launching. A ball of fire suddenly consumes the van and a palm grove somewhere in Iraq.

"Good shot," says a voice squawking over what sounds like a military radio. Before the one-minute video clip is over, two more SUVs are destroyed by Apache helicopters.

The video is one of dozens brought to viewers around the world by Maj. Alayne Conway, the top public affairs officer for the 3rd Infantry Division. When her unit was in Iraq, her office sent out four to six videos a day to media outlets around the world, as well as posting them on YouTube.

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Tully Center Publishes Grim Report on State of Access to Military Justice

The Tully Center for Free Speech at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press today released a comprehensive study on the lack of public access to military court proceedings. The Tully Center’s researchers found more than one-third of military bases surveyed do not allow public access to information in military court schedules, and another 20% only give out partial information. The Reporters Committee published this research as part of an 8-page guide including information on the problems reporters encounter in covering military courts, the relevant law and helpful resources.

The report is available here.

FOI At Work: Army Transport Prone to Tipping?

The towering trucks that give U.S. troops the best protection against roadside bombs and enemy bullets also make them vulnerable to routine hazards like sharp turns, rutted roads and rickety bridges.

Five deaths caused by rollovers and dozens of other accidents in Iraq and Afghanistan have led U.S. military leaders to warn troops to be smart behind the wheel, according to military documents obtained by The Associated Press and accident reports released under the Freedom of Information Act.

The message is especially relevant in Afghanistan, where a resurgent Taliban has boosted demand for these steel cocoons, known as MRAPs. Due to the country's mountainous terrain and unpaved roads, officials will send nearly 800 more RG-31s, the smallest of several different MRAPs the military now uses.

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FOI AT Work: Don't Ask, Don't Tell Affects More Women Than Men

The Army and Air Force discharged a disproportionate number of women in 2007 under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that prohibits openly gay people from serving in the military, according to Pentagon statistics gathered by an advocacy group.

While women make up 14 percent of Army personnel, 46 percent of those discharged under the policy last year were women. And while 20 percent of Air Force personnel are women, 49 percent of its discharges under the policy last year were women.

By comparison for 2006, about 35 percent of the Army’s discharges and 36 percent of the Air Force’s were women, according to the statistics.

The information was gathered under a Freedom of Information Act request by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a policy advocacy organization.

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