[iwar] [fc:U.S..Air.Force.Warns.Its.Officers.Not.To.Talk.To.Reporters]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2001-10-09 07:33:10


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Subject: [iwar] [fc:U.S..Air.Force.Warns.Its.Officers.Not.To.Talk.To.Reporters]
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Bloomberg.com
October 5, 2001
U.S. Air Force Warns Its Officers Not To Talk To Reporters
By Tony Capaccio 

Washington -- U.S.  Air Force officers have been ordered not to talk
with reporters or industry groups about weapon programs. 

A directive sent to officers in charge of fighter programs, electronics
and depot maintenance in Washington, Massachusetts, Ohio and Utah warned
against disclosing information. 

``Effective immediately, I do not want anyone within the Air Force
acquisition community discussing any of our programs with the media --
on or off the record,'' wrote Darleen Druyun, the Air Force principal
deputy assistant secretary for acquisition.  ``This includes any forums
at which the media might be present.''

``Clearly, we have shifted to wartime footing and we must be extremely
careful with any information potential adversaries can exploit,'' she
wrote.  ``When in doubt, err on the side of caution.''

The Air Force directive is a stronger version of one sent earlier in the
week to defense contractors urging discretion in public statements and
press releases. 

``Statistical, production, contracting and delivery information can
convey a tremendous amount of information that hostile intelligence
organizations might find relevant,'' Pentagon acquisition undersecretary
Edward Aldridge wrote. 

`No Gag Order'

The tight-lip policy was first set by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
one day after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon.  On Sept.  12, he warned military personnel not to disclose
any information about pending operations against terrorists. 

The Pentagon has repeatedly declined to confirm any details about the
military's mobilization or give reporters guidance on their stories. 
The Air Force directive should not be seen as a gag order but rather as
an attempt to act ``with prudence and reason,'' Druyun said in a short
telephone interview. 

The Air Force will review media requests for information on a
case-by-case basis and won't use the directive to hide problems with
weapons systems, she said.  Service officials, however, won't talk about
the capabilities of systems, production schedules or whether they will
be accelerated, she said. 

Druyun said she issued the directive in response to a ``flood'' of
messages from industry organizations asking for Air Force officials to
speak at forums discussing weapon systems and how they might contribute
to the war on terrorism. 

``I ask each of you to scrutinize the agendas and participants for any
planned government-industry symposia or forums involving your
organizations,'' Druyun wrote to the officers. 

``I am particularly concerned with any forums attended by foreign
nationals,'' she wrote.  ``I leave it up to you to determine if these
arrangements can still be held while complying with our need to strictly
control public disclosure of sensitive acquisition program
information,'' she wrote. 


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