The war on transparency

Glenn Greenwald for Salon.com describes the removal of the Graham-Lieberman photo suppression amendment from the war supplemental spending bill as "a potentially temporary though still quite significant victory." The amendment is "nothing but a pure manifestation of the Bush mentality," he wrote. Without the amendment, war crimes photos are likely to be released. Supporting the suppression of information that might increase anti-American sentiment implies that "we should conceal or even outright lie about all the bad things we do that might reflect poorly on us." The Washington Post reports that the Obama administration is also urging the federal court to keep concealed all evidence relating to CIA's destruction of interrogation videotapes.

Yesterday, there was a potentially temporary though still quite significant victory for those who believe in open government and transparency: as Jane Hamsher first reported, House leaders and the White House were forced to remove the Graham-Lieberman photo suppression amendment from the war supplemental spending bill, because widespread opposition to that amendment among progressive House Democrats was jeopardizing passage of the spending bill. Readers here and those of various blogs who bombarded House members with opposition calls on Friday obviously played an important role in forcing the withdrawal of this pernicious amendment. Successes of this sort are rare enough that -- even if fleeting -- they warrant some celebration.

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Obama reverses media ban on casket photos

The new policy on photographs of fallen troops' caskets has not been ironed it, but families will have a choice of media presence at Dover Air Force Base, the AP reported. No timetable has been set for when the new policy will go into effect.

The Obama administration is reversing an 18-year ban on news coverage of the return of war dead, allowing photographs of flag-covered caskets when families of the fallen troops agree, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.

"My conclusion was we should not presume to make the decision for the families," Gates said in announcing results of a quick review of a ban that had stood through Republican and Democratic administrations.

Although details are being worked out, the new policy will give families a choice of whether to admit the press to ceremonies at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the entry point to the United States for the caskets of overseas war dead.

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AP president urges government to improve journalists' access on battlefield

Tom Curley's comments stemmed from a recent report that revealed how the Department of Defense spends nearly $4.7 billion each year on "influence operations."

The president and CEO of The Associated Press called Friday for the government to increase access to journalists on the battlefield.

“No government will give us our rights if we are not willing to stand up and fight for them,” said Tom Curley, who received the William Allen White National Citation at Kansas University on Friday.

He received the award given by the William Allen White Foundation at the Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union.

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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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