May 25, 2004
Camera phones in Iraq; digicams and truth in wartime
Xeni Jardin for boing boing has an interesting update on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's order for a ban of cell phones equipped with cameras in US army installations in Iraq.
Xeni Writes
"The story was subsequently cited in numerous online news reports, including UPI and AFP, and blogged abundantly.
Quoting a Pentagon source, the paper said the US Defence Department believes that some of the damning photos of US soldiers abusing Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad were taken with camera phones. "Digital cameras, camcorders and cellphones with cameras have been prohibited in military compounds in Iraq," it said, adding that a "total ban throughout the US military" is in the works.
This morning, I asked a Defense Department spokesperson whether or not the reports of a phonecam ban were true. This spokesperson said that these reports were technically inaccurate -- that the Pentagon is not issuing a new ban on camera phones per se, but that a Directive 8100.2 was issued on April 14 establishing new restrictions on wireless telecommunications equipment in general. The text of this directive is available online here in PDF format.
The intent of this April 14 directive, and how commanders in the field will be expected to enforce it, are matters I'll be reporting on in more detail for the NPR Program "Day to Day," later this week.
Link to cameraphone ban report, Link to full Rumsfeld "running around with digital cameras" quote. See also this Chicago Tribune Editorial by Clarence Page, "Weapons of Mass Photography."
Micke Grenville for 160 charcters.org comments:
"Rather than root out behaviour that many believe is not the actions of a few rogue soldiers but is widely practiced in the US army, it seems Rumsfeld has decided to brazen the scandal out and shoot the messenger to prevent any future embarrassing picture leaks.
A satirical article in TheDailyFarce wonders whether a total ban in Iraq will follow so that videos of wedding parties for example will not contradict US military versions of incidents".
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