Pentagon Revises Law of War Policy Treating Reporters Like Spies
By Theodore Bunker
NewsMax.com
Friday, 22 Jul 2016
The Pentagon is changing the U.S. military’s manual of war after listening to criticism of the language regarding journalists, which seemed to let commanders treat reporters as spies, The Huffington Post reports.
The U.S. Department of Defense manual was released in June 2015, and quickly drew attention from The New York Times, which pointed out the guidelines on journalists and called for their repeal.
Under the 2015 version, journalists could be treated as “unprivileged belligerents,” which entails fewer legal protections than those afforded to prisoners of war and combatants.
“The new language is a seismic shift for the U.S. military,” said Frank Smyth, senior adviser for journalist security at the Committee to Protect Journalists. “This affirmation of journalists’ right to report armed conflicts freely and from all sides is especially welcome at a time when governments, militias, and insurgent forces around the world are routinely flouting the laws of war.”
The Rest…HERE
