Well, didn't expect to see a Chelsea Manning op-ed at the
Times tonight but
here you go. Mainly on journalists and the "embed" (or "in bed") program. (Our updated
book on Manning.) From the "Fog Machine of War" op-ed:
Among the many daily reports I received via email while working in
Iraq in 2009 and 2010 was an internal public affairs briefing that
listed recently published news articles about the American mission in
Iraq. One of my regular tasks was to provide, for the public affairs
summary read by the command in eastern Baghdad, a single-sentence
description of each issue covered, complementing our analysis with local
intelligence.
The more I made these daily comparisons between
the news back in the States and the military and diplomatic reports
available to me as an analyst, the more aware I became of the disparity.
In contrast to the solid, nuanced briefings we created on the ground,
the news available to the public was flooded with foggy speculation and
simplifications.
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