Someone needs to forward this to the Davester...

From Michael Yon:

RUBS #3 (Raw Unedited, Barely Spellchecked)

I had occasion to read through the comments on the last few RUBS dispatches and I noticed, with appreciation, all the notes from families of soldiers in the 1-4 Cav, who were glad to see something, finally, about their sons, husbands and dads and the critical mission they are undertaking in Baghdad. Many lamented on how rare this kind of news is, and wanted me to know how valuable it is for them. There were also a lot of comments from people new to the site, making the point that they were hungry for news from the ground here; many were angry at “mainstream media” for failing to provide it more regularly.

Someone from Fox News called me a few nights ago, saying Fox had to turn down a two-week embed due to security reasons. Not security reasons meaning that they might get shot or blown up, but security reasons [emphasis in original] that their gear might get stolen on base. I have written before about how, even now into the 5th year of the war in Iraq, there are still are no dedicated resources —particularly, secure places for press to live and work so that they can launch off into combat embeds—on the major bases in Baghdad. Fox News, faced with staying in tents with itinerant workers who today might be in Baghdad, and tomorrow in Calcutta or Los Angeles (with someone else’s gear), turned down a two-week embed with our forces. ABC no longer embeds with combat forces due to the sheer danger of the combat, and now Fox has no plans to embed until at least May, simply due to security and workspace on the bases themselves.

Mike continues:

Who suffers? Firstly, we are losing the war in part because we are losing public support for it. We are losing public support for it in part because there are so few reports that demonstrate enough progress being made and enough reasons to continue to fight until Iraqis are able to go it alone. Secondly, the soldiers suffer because their stories are not being told. Fox News, which reaches millions, just turned down an embed simply because they don’t want their cameras and computers stolen, and they need to actually work when they aren’t guarding their gear. Unlike yours truly, Fox News has deadlines to meet.

But there is worse to come - Operation Keyboard Warriors...

“Zig” actually works for CENTCOM in something called Operation Keyboard Warrior (OKW). It’s not clear whether this is a DoD project or a cyber group, but OKW “warriors” watch over web sites and blogs and descend upon those focusing on the military’s media relations. They plant comments when posts critical of the military “side” gain any traction.

You need to read the rest. Right now. So click here and read.

[Posted by the Armorer for Dusty]