I hope the news orgs don’t let this stand. What are they(meaning Gitmo) trying to cover up?

This is pretty stupid. I mean, if they used the guy’s name in open court (I read your WI article, SA), how overwhelmingly interested can they be in keeping it secret? I wouldn’t worry too much about Carol. She’ll appeal, and most likely win. Hopefully Michelle and the others can do the same.

I gotta say, though, SA, I worked down at GTMO in public affairs for a year, and we weren’t so worried about Carol’s doggedness as we were about the fact that she was exceedingly, unnecessarily mean to us, especially lower enlisted. She’s really not a very nice person. Doesn’t detract from the quality of her work, and I’m glad she does the job she does, but she could have been a lot nicer to those of us who were just there doing our jobs, and had no control over what she was able to find out or do while she was there.

Also, SA, if you see Shane tonight, tell him James said hi :)

So that’s it? You won’t say Claus’ name yourself? What else do you let the Pentagon dictate to you about your coverage?

Josh, Gitmo is one of those places where if the Pentagon says you can’t go, you can’t go. Spencer is likely trying to protect his ability to go back there. He’s not a big fish like Carol Rosenberg is. She’ll get back, I’m sure. And, honestly, is the guy’s name that important? Your need to know it doesn’t outweigh the potential danger to him from retaliation. The important people are Cheney, Rumsfeld, Bush and every other person who allowed this to happen. They’re the ones who should be on trial, and they already have security details.

I realize tailoring one’s coverage to maintain access to a story isn’t the most idealistic kind of journalism, but sometimes that’s what your stuck with. If every reporter at Gitmo broke the ground rules, they wouldn’t be allowed back, and then we wouldn’t find anything out at all. It’s not great, but it’s what we’ve got. The Bush cabal chose that site for a REASON. The minute those detainees get transferred stateside, the U.S. media (ALL of it, not just the mainstream part) will simply be able to drive up to the gate instead of having to get a Pentagon approval slip to even get on the same land mass as the place.

Edit: That’s what YOU’RE stuck with.

Everybody needs an editor.

Update, too: Turns out Claus’ name was already public record. He gave Michelle Shephard an on-the-record interview in which he identified himself as Khadr’s interrogator.

For whoever made the decision to do this: that’s not egg on your face, sir or ma’am, that’s chicken shit.

Are you fucking kidding me? Did you read what I published on Monday? Or what I published on Tuesday? Days before the testimony and the subsequent ban? Or what I linked to when I wrote about my colleagues’ objections?

If you’re going to question my integrity based on such ignorance, I’m going to treat you like a troll. And I thought you were too smart for that.

Indeed. Thanks for your support, your insight, your experience and your precise comments. I’m not going to dispute your description of Carol, since that’s your experience, but I’ve seen her be warm to both enlisteds and officers during these past two weeks. And this isn’t the time for me to do anything but support my colleagues. We’re in different positions and I respect what you’re saying.

Spencer:
Do you have any comment about what Marcy wrote here:

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/05/06/dod-kicks-out-gitmo-reporters-for-reporting-publicly-available-information/

Down, girl. I was making a point. Thanks for helping me out.

So speculation time: why are they banned for printing his name, when you’ve done the same but apparently are not? Surely there is more to this story than naming a guy who was already in the public record?

I wonder if the MSM is going to get their panties all in a twist over this bald faced Pentagon intimidation tactic the way they did when the White House mildly rebuked Foxnews? Their silence already seems deafening.

I also worked in the PAO office in GTMO and I have to echo jc. Rosenberg wasn’t exactly kind to the lower enlisted. I got the impression that she was buying into her “no nonsense” hype a little too much. At the same time…her aggressive attitude did lead to some fairly memorable moments- such as when she attempted to push a CPT from my office off a moving bus. There were more than a few of us silently wishing she would succeed.

As a fellow journalist who covered Guantanamo with Carol, I saw her routinely treat military men and women, and at times other reporters, with utter contempt and disrespect. For sport, she would pick arguments in order to demean and belittle them with personal insults and profanity, while boasting to them and members of the press that she was often a guest at the Admiral’s residence, enjoying brandy and cigars with other top brass. Carol even managed to bring the 4-star Admiral in charge of Southern Command in Miami to the White House correspondents dinner a few years back.

Carol used the Miami Herald’s close ties to the Admirals in Miami and Gitmo as a weapon over the troops, since the brass would rather fire or reassign them to other parts of the base than hear any complaints from Carol or her editors, no matter how slight.

Her reprehensible conduct was an embarrassment to the rest of us in the media. In addition to Miami Herald execs who know the truth about Carol and should have acted long ago to fix her behavior, these Admirals ought to be ashamed of themselves for allowing the press to treat their sailors and soldiers like common criminals.