Stars and Stripes ombudsman defends right to WikiLeaks access
Mark Prendergast, ombudsman for the U.S. military’s official newspaper Stars and Stripes, has a convincing piece arguing that U.S. military personnel, and particularly U.S. military journalists, should have the right to read the WikiLeaks cables: Putting reporters and editors under strictures intended for keepers of the nation’s secrets contradicts the fundamental purpose of journalism: to ...
Mark Prendergast, ombudsman for the U.S. military's official newspaper Stars and Stripes, has a convincing piece arguing that U.S. military personnel, and particularly U.S. military journalists, should have the right to read the WikiLeaks cables:
Mark Prendergast, ombudsman for the U.S. military’s official newspaper Stars and Stripes, has a convincing piece arguing that U.S. military personnel, and particularly U.S. military journalists, should have the right to read the WikiLeaks cables:
Putting reporters and editors under strictures intended for keepers of the nation’s secrets contradicts the fundamental purpose of journalism: to seek information, not avoid it.
More pointedly, this action imperils the editorial independence and First Amendment freedoms that Congress demanded of the Pentagon for Stars and Stripes two decades ago and then acted to ensure by authorizing an ombudsman to provide “aggressive and objective oversight.”
Journalists are supposed to report before they write. That means gathering as much information as they can – in breadth and depth – and consulting primary sources whenever feasible.
Prendergast also dismisses the argument that it poses a security risk to allow military personnel to read the already posted cables:
Ignorance is not bliss. It is ignorance. And it is dangerous.
“War is based on deception,” the ancient Chinese military theorist Sun Tzu is reputed to have said. “Know your enemy and know yourself.”
Call me old-fashioned, but I want to know what my enemy knows – especially about me.
The government needs to strengthen measures to protect national secrets and interests. But forbidding Americans to read what is available to the rest of the world is wrongheaded – especially when that is directed at people whose very work is to keep the rest of us informed.
It’s one thing to try to control what journalists can write. It’s another to say what they can read.
The toothpaste is out of the tube. It can’t be put back. The government should just replace the cap, preserve what’s left and move on.
Thankfully, unlike his colleagues in the Air Force, Prendergast can still access sites like the New York Times and FP that report on the cables. Overall, the Pentagon and the State Department’s efforts to keep their employees from knowing the things that the rest of us can read in the paper every day has to be one of the most baffling responses to the WikiLeaks debacle.
Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating
More from Foreign Policy
At Long Last, the Foreign Service Gets the Netflix Treatment
Keri Russell gets Drexel furniture but no Senate confirmation hearing.
How Macron Is Blocking EU Strategy on Russia and China
As a strategic consensus emerges in Europe, France is in the way.
What the Bush-Obama China Memos Reveal
Newly declassified documents contain important lessons for U.S. China policy.
Russia’s Boom Business Goes Bust
Moscow’s arms exports have fallen to levels not seen since the Soviet Union’s collapse.
Sign up for World Brief
FP’s flagship evening newsletter guiding you through the most important world stories of the day. Delivered weekdays.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.
