CIA Asks Bush to Discontinue Blog

WASHINGTON, DC—In the interest of national security, President Bush has been asked to stop posting entries on his three-month-old personal web log, acting CIA director John E. McLaughlin said Monday.

According to McLaughlin, several recent entries on PrezGeorgeW. typepad.com have compromised military operations, while other posts may have seriously undercut the PR efforts of White House press secretary Scott McClellan.

A July 24 posting read, "Just got back from a lunch with Colin and Adil Moussa (one of Prince Saud al-Faisal's guys). Colin wants the Saudis to send some troops to Najaf—so some of the soldiers are Arab, I guess. This Moussa guy sure wears a lot of jewelry. A golden chain, a golden ring with his initials or something, and some other sparkling stuff—kinda effeminate. Anyway, best of luck in Iraq, Iyad."

McLaughlin, normally hesitant to express public disapproval of the president, said the blog was "ill-advised."

"I would hate for the president to inadvertently put American soldiers at risk," McLaughlin said. "We work hard to maintain the integrity of state secrets. When we see the president posting details of troop movements, international counter-terrorism negotiations, and even the nuclear launch codes, as he did on Monday, we have to step up and say something."

Bush said he could not understand McLaughlin's anger, characterizing his blog as a "personal thing written for friends and family or whoever" and therefore "none of the CIA's business."

click here for more of this article from The Onion



I don't know how I feel about this. I'm sitting on the fence, looking both ways, and not particularly agreeing with either side. I think that Bush does have the right to have a blog and right freely on it. I think it would be interesting to read about the daily life events and thoughts of the president. A blog provides a portrait of life, a life that only you lead. Because of that, personal satisfaction and self-worth can be found in between the lines of single spaced text. But, on the other hand, blogging is also a self promotion. It is a way of giving you a voice and to hope to be heard. When you are the president of the United States, you have a very strong voice. It is the voice of an entire nation. Bush, in his role as president, needs to protect those who have elected him and not be so selfish as to leak potentially dangerous information. I understand why he might want to blog but I also understand that the Secret Service has a job to do and the security or the nation and the president may be at risk.

Thanks DoubleTrouble for the lead on this one!