The U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior officer, Wired News has learned. The directive, issued April 19, is the sharpest restriction on troops' online activities since the start of the Iraq war. And it could mean the end of military blogs, observers say.

Some would argue that this is an attempt by the present administration to snuff out the voice of our soldiers in the guise of operational security in order to manipulate the publics perception of what is really going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. But is it really? In past wars we have never had the kind of embedded media with instant satellite communications or soldiers who are able to post blogs and email while fighting a war. During World War II the only communication a soldier had with their loved ones back home were hand written letters that often arrived six months after they were written. We can't rely on history to teach us what to do here and the Army is trying to make the best out of a bad situation. It may be an inconvenience but if it saves even one soldiers life, it will be worth it.

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