Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Let's keep the story one sided...

This must be one of the values we're spending lives and money on in Afghanistan.

NATO has imposed tough new restrictions on foreign journalists covering the war in southern Afghanistan, changes that could affect how much Canadians see and hear from war-torn Kandahar.

The new measures, imposed in early March, mirror the way the U.S. military manages reporters in Iraq.

The restrictions make it virtually impossible for Canadian journalists to leave Kandahar Airfield on their own to interview local Afghans and return unimpeded to the safety of NATO's principal base.

Last month, Canadian soldiers were required to escort newly arrived journalists everywhere on the airfield, including to the dining hall and showers. A photographer from the Reuters news agency and a handful of Canadian journalists were escorted between buildings and confined to their sleeping quarters when not working.

Now, before everyone goes off spinning and linking be fully aware that the Canadian Forces is dead-set against this policy and is trying to have it stopped.

The hard part to swallow, however, is this:

Some of the new rules do not apply to American journalists because the measures would violate their rights under the U.S. constitution.

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