p2pnet - rss feed: Iraq soldier fined for blog
p2pnet.net News:- A 40-year-old Arizona National Guardsman on active duty in Baghdad has been demoted from specialist to private first class and has been ordered pay the Army a fine of $820 per month for two months.
His crime? Blogging.
Leonard Clark published "classified" information, according to a statement from US Central Command quoted by CNET News, which goes on. “Flora Lee, a spokesperson at the military’s Combined Press Information Center in Iraq, confirmed that an investigation is under way but declined to provide further details on the case.”
Clark is charged with “violating two articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which prohibit soldiers from releasing or ‘encouraging widespread publication’ of classified or specific information about troop movement and location, soldiers who have been attacked or hit, and military strategy,” the statement said, according to CNET.
‘A venue for a fellow activist’
"This is Kevin, the site administrator,” says a post from Kewvin Spidel on Clark’s blog.
“I have taken this site down. This issue has spurred heated debate on both sides; however some of the dialogue became very ugly toward each other. This whole matter has become very unclear and ugly.
“I simply started a site for a fellow Democratic activist in my district, which was serving over in Iraq. It was a venue for a fellow activist to connect with the folks at home. It has transpired to much more then that. I regret any negative impact that this site may have played. I feel that my name associated with this blog and the situation must end. At this point I have no comment for the media, and wish to step back from this entire situation.
“Folks who want to write to Leonard can do so by emailing him here.”
And on August 2, Spidel posted on his own site:
"He [Clark] has been gagged by order of the Army, demoted, and fined for speaking truth to power.
"Note all of his comments are archived for viewing in court at a later date, but his friends have gone over in detail all of his prior posts… there was NO sensitive data given. All ambigious with no specific details. But very outspoken on the war.
"Because he has been gagg’ed he can not defend his reputation, and it is being smeared now by an AP wire that was posted on www.drudgereport.com. So all the right wingers are going there to fill the blog with hate speech against a liberal soldier."
Stay tuned.
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See:-
CNET News - Army punishes soldier for blog posts, August 2, 2005
August 3rd, 2005 at 9:37 pm
This is typical of the lamestream media both on the left and right.
August 4th, 2005 at 5:37 am
If George Bush believes so much in this war why doesn’t he send his two daughters over there to fight for what DADDY believes in!!!!
August 4th, 2005 at 6:18 am
His daughters are TOO GOOD to fight along side of us unwashed masses. This is the same for just about all of Congress. I believe that there is only one Congressman that has an ENLISTED child in the military. All the other congressional offspring in service are officers.
August 4th, 2005 at 2:05 pm
14 Marines were killed this week without the enemy knowing the time and location of that troop movement. Think of how many more soldiers would be killed if the enemy had advanced knowledge of movement and schedules. That is why there is a “filter process” in place for bloggers, a component of which is a time delay factor.
There are other bloggers over there who are as critical of the administration, however, they submit their blogs through the filter process. This blogger, it appears, did not. There are also standards and regs to follow, once again it appears this blogger did not follow them.
Judging by the relativly light punishment this person received, he was more than likely found guilty of a technical violation of the process. If he had devulged such sensative information, he would have gone to a full courts martial, been convicted, and would now be on his way to spend the rest of his remaining years at Knox or Levinworth as a PV nothing.
I will not address the subject of whether or not his actions negatively effected troop moral and of the merits, or lack of, of a case for trail under the UCMJ as “Conduct Unbecomming”, or the ever present “Aid and Comfort” section.
August 4th, 2005 at 2:08 pm
I did notice that your site says “You’re posting as Anonymous”, however, when you actually post, it lists you as “Anonymous Coward”. It speaks volumes of your site.