Soldiers in Iraq Barred from Memory Hole

Brian Doherty | June 1, 2004

The Memory Hole Web site--Russ Kick's collection of fascinating government and corporate documents--is apparently off limits to U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

Comments

Kevin Carson|6.1.04 @ 1:50AM|#

So this might be the result of government incompetence rather than government authoritarianism. That's actually a comfort these days. My one source of reassurance is that martial law, if it comes, will be carried out by the same people who brought us the Post Office.

s.m. koppelman|6.1.04 @ 2:06AM|#

Maybe it's getting blocked because it's got the word "hole" in the URL.

"Hole". Heh-heh.

"Hole".

|6.1.04 @ 3:26AM|#

Heh-heh...

|6.1.04 @ 4:00AM|#

I don't think the problem is with "holes". The US administration loves holes. I mean the US War Seretary Rumsfailed himself is an asshole; there have been loads of holes dug in football pitches for graves in Najaf; and they all just love that hole in the ozone layer.

I think the problem word is more likely to be "memory". The memory of claims of WMDs, the memory of Abu Ghraib, the memory of Vietnam, Laos, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Cambodia...

They don't want memories. They want muppets like Bliar and puppets like the Iraqi Interim Government: people who just want to "move on" and forget the past, never learning from it.

mtg101|6.1.04 @ 4:43AM|#

I don't think the problem is with "holes". The US administration loves holes. I mean the US War Seretary Rumsfailed himself is an asshole; there have been many holes dug in football pitches for graves in Najaf; and they all just love that hole in the ozone layer.

I think the problem word is more likely to be "memory". The memory of claims of WMDs, the memory of Abu Ghraib, the memory of Vietnam, Laos, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Cambodia...

They don't want memories. They want muppets like Bliar and puppets like the Iraqi Interim Government: people who just want to "move on" and forget the past, never learning from it.

|6.1.04 @ 6:57AM|#

I suspect this story is right up there with the story about Rummy banning camera phones in Iraq - unmitigated bullshit. I sure wish the democrats would get an issue to run on.

Kevin Carson|6.1.04 @ 11:27AM|#

Only makes sense. After all, they're over there "fighting for our freedoms." Stands to reason they can't be allowed to read just anything they want--they might get the wrong ideas.

This is a war for freedom, that could last forever. Freedom is a luxury we can't afford until it's over.

|6.1.04 @ 12:15PM|#

What Kevin said! There shouldn't even be a "War on Terror". Terror is not an enemy, it's a tactic. A war on a tactic is by nature an open ended war, and one with out cessation.

The "War on Terror" is nebulous enough to give the government a sort of carte blanche excuse for infringing on all manner of individual rights.

|6.1.04 @ 12:58PM|#

I'm in the Navy, but stationed in the US. The Memory Hole isn't blocked at my command.

Saying this is a deliberate act on the part of the military is a bit harsh. The filtering on our comptuers is done by primarily by a third party and none of these companies will voluntarilly disclose their classification criteria. So its quite possible that the Army has nothing to do with it.

|6.2.04 @ 1:50AM|#

Well, they could attack Bush's big government agenda, but they've nominated a candidate who is among the very biggest spenders in congress: http://www.ntu.org/main/components/ratescongress/details_all_years.php3?senate_id=54

They could attack this tragic and needless war, but they've nominated a candidate whose position is so close to Bush's that you have to listen very carefully and at just the right time to hear a difference.

|6.2.04 @ 7:25AM|#

Or they could just ask the Whigs to move over.

david|6.2.04 @ 7:55AM|#

Active-duty AF myself -- and I see "filtering" at work frequently. The issue with Memory HOle isn't the "extreme" label -- it's the "Politics/Discussion" tag. Many military computers are blocked from such sites - government employees on government time on government computers arguably should not be involved in "flamewars" about abortion, religion, etc, so semi-blanket filters are applied to prevent government (military) employees from spending time on such sites instead of accomplishing their job.

In other words, it's not The Memory Hole that's being filtered -- it's the broad category of "Politics/Religion" that is being filtered.

Which is perfectly fine and appropriate.

|6.2.04 @ 8:37AM|#

david,

That may be acceptable stateside, where an individual would have access to their own private computer when not at work, but its a less compelling argument when applied to those in the armed forces who may not have such access when overseas.

|6.2.04 @ 9:34AM|#

Do we give them more bandwidth, or counterbattery radar?

|6.2.04 @ 10:08AM|#

Walter Wallis,

I doubt that its an issue of bandwidth.

david|6.2.04 @ 11:11AM|#

Gary: If they're assigned to a "permanent" base overseas, then they almost certainly have their own internet access at home, so it's not an issue.

But if they're oversease in a DEPLOYED ENVIRONMENT (Iraq, Afghanistan, etc), then to put it plainly: T.S. You are owned - 24/7 - by The Mission, and shouldn't be complaining about filtered websites. And 99% of all troops over there know that.

nathan|6.4.04 @ 4:32AM|#

Furthermore, as another Active-Duty USAF currently deployed, I can tell that bandwidth is part of the issue in what is blocked: Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail are blocked for just such reasons, in part.
Morale is a big issue, but we don't have the bandwidth to allow people to assuage morale issues to their heart's content.