Geodog

Soldiers posting Iraq photos on the net

While doing some digital camera format research, I ran across Through the Lens of a Soldier, which are ostensibly (I assume that they are genuine, having no reason to disbelieve it) pictures taken by a soldier in the 101st Airborne division serving in Mosul in Northern (Kurdish) Iraq that were then posted on a photo sharing service by her sister, for all to see and comment on. The debate on whether the Iraq War is good or bad is of course raging in the comments, with many of the participants ostensibly members of the armed forces. There are many moving photos, and some funny ones -- my favorite in that category is a picture of a "no photography" sign.

How does it change journalism when serving soldiers are publishing reports and photos from the front for all to see? How about when they start sending back live video? And then other serving soldiers debate the war in the comments of the publication forum? How does it change the military, and the relationship between the military and the American people?

I don't know the answer to any of these questions, except to know that it will cause changes to all of the above, and to hope that more openness and more unfiltered communication between the American citizens at home and those citizens serving in the armed forces will enhance democracy.