Gates clamps down on military interviews

US military officials now have to receive Pentagon clearance for interviews and other media contacts. Defense Secretary Robert Gates issued the new order on Friday, just days after President Barack Obama accepted the resignation of Gen. Stan McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, because of inflammatory comments published in a Rolling Stone article. The New York Times first reported on Gates order and memo issued to military and civilian personnel worldwide. In the memo, Gates requires top-level Pentagon and military leaders to notify the office of the Defense Departments assistant secretary for public affairs prior to interviews or any other means of media and public engagement with possible national or international implications, according to the New York Times. I am concerned that the department has grown lax in how we engage with the media, often in contravention of established rules and procedures, Gates wrote in the memo. The tightening of the media rules has been in the works before the McChrystal-Rolling Stone controversy.