May 26, 2004
Xeni Tech: Phonecams on the Front Lines
Technology expert Xeni Jardin reports about the impact that digital camera technology has had on the war in Iraq on NPR, via boing boing.
"Today on the National Public Radio program "Day to Day," I talk with host Alex Chadwick about discredited news reports that US Defense Secretary Rumsfeld issued an edict banning phonecams in Iraq -- as well as the confirmed release of a new Pentagon directive (PDF) outlining new restrictions on consumer wireless tech at DoD installations worldwide. While there may not be a Pentagon-issued ban on phonecams or connected digital cameras per se, there do appear to be new efforts under way to address the proliferation of those technologies in the military theater and throughout the DoD's "information grid." Alex says,
The images of abuse at Abu Ghraib, the photos of returning soldiers' coffins -- we see them because of this technology. And it's caught defense officials off-guard.
Related articles on this issue:
-- Did Rumsfeld ban Iraq camera phones?
-- Camera phones in Iraq; digicams and truth in wartime
-- Rumsfeld bans camera phones in Iraq: report
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