Artwork - The Abandoned Soldier
The Department of Defense is blocking online access to news reports about classified National Security Agency documents made public by Edward Snowden. The blackout affects all of the department’s computers and is part of a department-wide directive.
“Any website that runs information that the Department of Defense still considers classified” is affected, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Damien Pickart told U.S. News in a phone interview.
According to Pickart, news websites that re-report information first published by The Guardian or other primary sources are also affected.
“If that particular website runs an article that our filters determine has classified information… the particular content on that website will remain inaccessible,” he said.
Pickart said the blackout affects “millions” of computers on “all Department of Defense networks and systems.”
The spokesman told U.S. News that original reports about the leaks may be specifically targeted for the blackout. He admitted that “automated filters are never perfect,” and some reports may slip through the cyber blockade. [...]
The Monterey Herald reported Thursday that the Army was restricting access to The Guardian’s website. A spokesman for the Army Network Enterprise Technology Command confirmed that the policy affected The Guardian, but the scope of the military’s blackout wasn’t immediately clear.
There COULD be an element of national security involved. But I personally don't believe that such is the case. The Obama administration is Orwellian in scope.
ReplyDeleteI can't not think of any reasonable way in which this decision would have to do with National Security, unless it is simply that the Obama Administration is afraid that their violations of the Constitution will lead to a Military Coup.
ReplyDeletePasto,
ReplyDeleteI can't think of reason either -- other than the fear of the military coup you mentioned.