Gates clamps down

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has ordered all military officials to get clearance through the Pentagon before being interviewed by the media. (Read about it here.)

Officials are saying this policy emphasis (it’s not really a change), was being considered long before Gen. Stanley McChrystal agreed to let Rolling Stone interview him and his staff, which eventually led to his dismissal. Gates said the policy was not being followed properly.
“Long before the recent Rolling Stone article, I have grown increasingly concerned that we have become too lax, disorganized and in some cases flat-out sloppy in the way we engage with the press,” Reuters quoted him as saying.
But I don’t believe the McChrystal experience is completely separate from this new emphasis.
I can understand the desire to keep generals and other personnel from saying any old thing that may contradict official policy. That’s bad enough for a private corporation, let alone the agency responsible for defending the nation’s sovereignty.
But consider this: If Gen. McChrystal had been prohibited from talking to Rolling Stone, it would not have changed his feelings about the nation’s civilian leadership. If one of our top generals thinks that way, aren’t we better off knowing about it?