Think about it. They will be under the same rules and have the same mentality as the troops...they will have to submit their reports to the military leaders to screen and edit for us at home.

What's the point? Don't tell me it's safety of the troops...they can use pencil and paper for their reports. Should journalists that wish to report a war story give up their civilian freedoms to do so?

I, for one, will not rely on American reports from this war. I will rely on Canadian, Brittish, and others that can get report without censorship or risk to their lives.

Free press my *** NOTICE: THIS WORD IS AGAINST THE RULES. FAILURE TO REMOVE IT WILL RESULT IN A STRIKE. ***.

You want Free Media? Well okay. We'll just announce that we have that one big Al-Queda guy in custody. Why not? I'm sure everyone he's connected to won't hear about his arrest on the news!

The Pakistanis blabbing the arrest of the 9/11 mastermind probably made all the info the FBI & CIA found on him worthless because his contacts might have just now blown the country, making OUR job more difficult.

Goldmine of INFO

How many Al-Queda cells could we have caught in the U.S. if the Pakistanis hadn't blabbed the news? Hmmm? What new stuff would we have learned from the arrests of those cells? Also, if he did know where Osama was, he sure ain't there now because Osama blew the coop when he was arrested!

May I ask what mentality that is?

I believe in a free and open press, when it doesn't endanger my soldiers lives. I have no problem with them reporting after action pieces, the good, the bad, or the ugly, but if I were to come across a reporter transmitting troop positions and movements, I'll be playing target practice with his satellite phone. and tell him/her they're getting off lucky.

There should be restrictions on the media. Otherwise they might give away intelligence info, or send back images of dead American soldiers. Reporting on it is one thing, putting pictures of it on the front page of a newspaper is quite another. It is disgraceful and disrespectful to the families of the men who are killed.

Paladin,

You need the black knight chesspiece as your avatar

Hit the nail right on the head. It isn't so much transmitting secrets as much as bringing the horrors of war to ma and pah America's breakfast and dinner tables. The anti-war sentiment will get worse if the nasties of war come home, as happened with Vietnam.

I personally don't need any pictures. War is still hell. My imagination fills in what isn't reported.

This is a very volatile situation--how much information do you edit out? If too much, then rumors can spread and grow. If not enough, then rumors can spread and grow. The rumors can be more damaging than the truth if the purpose is to keep public sentiment mostly for the war.