The Pentagon fired a senior official of a US military newspaper who expressed criticism

In a message she sent to the paper’s staff that was revealed by The Washington Post, Smith indicated that she believed her dismissal was a direct result of her public criticism of the Pentagon’s involvement. “I knew it was dangerous to speak out against the moves, but my responsibility to the newspaper and the First Amendment was paramount,” Smith wrote. According to her, her statements, among other things in the columns she published, made her vulnerable: “It’s simply a way to silence criticism,” she added.

The employees of “Stars and Stripes” are defined as employees of the Ministry of Defense, but for decades they enjoyed complete independence and no interference from the Pentagon in the system’s considerations. Tensions began to escalate last March, when an internal Ministry of Defense memo outlining a “modernization” plan for the newspaper was published. The memo included an unusual requirement that all content must be consistent with “good order and discipline” – a term drawn from the world of military law, and even imposed restrictions on the use of news agency services.