Pentagon Reporters Should Turn In Their Badges

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In 2010, when WikiLeaks published files on United States military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Pentagon spokesperson Geoff Morrell expressed panic. He told CNN host Howard Kurtz that the organization represented a “frightening new development” since they could not “negotiate” with WikiLeaks “like American news outlets.”

WikiLeaks, according to Morell, was “beholden to nobody” and had a “‘damn the consequences’ approach to publishing.” 

Fifteen years later, the Pentagon is as fearful as ever of journalists who may not submit to their political or military agenda. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell insists they are forcing reporters to agree to a censorship policy because the must protect “troops and the national security of this country.” 

Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials promise to revoke access for any credentialed reporters who do not sign the pledge. So far, only one media outlet that openly produces propaganda for President Donald Trump has signed.

Reporters assigned to the Pentagon should proudly hand in their badges. No self-respecting journalist should ever comply with guidelines that would turn them into state propagandists. They also should not yield to arbitrary rules that cast them as a “national security threat.”

Of course, this is how the Pentagon views journalists. When I reported on Chelsea Manning’s court-martial at Fort Meade, press arrived early in the morning to have their vehicles inspected by bomb-sniffing dogs. We were then escorted on base and closely monitored as we moved between a media center and a court building during the day.