More on Censorship: "They Pull Me Back In!"
Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in! ~ Michael Corleone, The Godfather III
I love The Godfather series. I live my life based on all the rich aphorisms in those three movies. For example, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" served me well during my quarter century in the service of Zio Salvatore. But the aged Don Michael Corleone's lament about "they pull me back in" has hit home again. You see, working national security for Uncle Sam is a lot like being a made man in the mafia -- you can never actually "quit."
The Department of State just released new regulations governing first amendment restrictions on its employees and former employees. Titled, 3 FAM 4170 REVIEW OF PUBLIC SPEAKING, TEACHING, WRITING, AND MEDIA ENGAGEMENT, the nineteen pages of revised regs lay out what the tenienti and ex-tenienti of Godfather State can write, teach and speak in public, including on social media. You see, the Department got major agita after FSO Peter Van Buren published a book on his posting in Baghdad without obtaining clearance from his employer a few years ago. After receiving the proverbial mafia death kiss on the cheek from Don State, Van Buren eventually was allowed to retire early with full benefits. No cement boots for that renegade diplomat. But this episode turned the Department's capos all stonato and made them hit the mattresses. Their consiglieri then set themselves on a quest to zip things up further to prevent future Van Buren's.
The regs state, "A principal goal of the review process for personal capacity public communications is to ensure that no classified or other protected information will be disclosed without authorization." They require employees and ex-employees to submit for review all "speaking, teaching, writing, and press/media engagement, including that prepared for electronic dissemination in an employee’s official capacity, or in an employee’s personal capacity if on a topic 'of Departmental concern.'" This includes all social media as well as all writings, media appearances and interviews -- "of Departmental concern." In other words, you don't need to submit for review your Facebook postings on Fido and the kids. But you'd sure as hell better send them your New York Times editorial on U.S. policy toward Sicily lest some Willy Cicci from Diplomatic Security come after you with a subpoena. In other words, with these new regs, Don State just made us an offer we can't refuse.
Now, I've been dealing with State's censors for many years, both when on active duty and as an ex-employee. I've blogged about this previously --
Why I'm Censored
Censorship: The Travails of a Top Secret Public Servant
More on Censorship: Don't Mess With "The Man" - Two Case Studies
I'll say this: they've always been straight shooters (not in the mafia sense) with me, working with me to ensure I didn't spill any national security beans. While I haven't always agreed with their redactions or changes, I've found them to be collegial and easy to work with. They're just doing their job. It's not personal, but strictly business. The office I deal with even asked me for autographed copies of my books, which I was glad to oblige. I do nothing to piss them off. After all, I spent my whole life trying not to be careless. Women and children can be careless. But not men.
My main gripe is that it's hard to meet publishing deadlines in such circumstances. While my novels haven't been terribly affected by the delays, my articles for POLITICO have been. Two of them missed repeated deadlines as the Department dithered and dallied in their review and clearance process, apparently because of my controversial examination of sensitive U.S. foreign policy issues. Fortunately, my editors were understanding and flexible. But I'm now viewed as a capable writer who nonetheless can't deliver on time because of my Faustian relationship with my ex-employer. The news cycle moves at lightning speed these days and journalists such as myself need to ride that bolt of lightning or risk losing work.
The new regs now spell out turnaround times for Departmental review, ranging from two days for social media postings to thirty days for books. The one that particularly bothers me is five days for "informal blog postings." What the latter does is to prevent folks like me from commenting on issues in a timely fashion. Hence, if I want to do an instant commentary on a fast-moving event, I won't be able to do so. That truly sucks.
So, am I now driven to close Diplo Denizen and confine myself to blogging about my favorite pasta, home-made sausage and cannoli recipes? Diplo Chef? Nope. I'll abide by the rules, but probably will write more on things not "of Departmental concern" and less time-sensitive feature stories.
As Hyman Roth said, "This is the business we have chosen."