The Pentagon closes doors, windows and shutters

Around thirty US media outlets have refused to sign the new regulations governing their access to the Pentagon, which could lead to the revocation of their press accreditation. We are talking about top-tier media outlets with diverse editorial lines, ranging from the Associated Press to the New York Times, passing through Wall Street Journal, he Washington PostCNN, Fox News, and the three major broadcast networks: CBS, NBC, and ABC. The new policy is part of the effort to turn the US defense headquarters into a much more opaque organization. In fact, they want to reduce press conferences to a minimum, and journalists are basically limited to swallowing official statements like geese swallowing grain to make foie gras. The head of the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, has backed the Trumpist line of rhetoric, saying that the press "is very disruptive in terms of world peace and, arguably, the security of our nation." He falls short of buying into McCarthyist rhetoric and accusing the media of being traitors, which is outrageous coming from the individual who shared war plans for Yemen in an open Signal chat, which did put the military personnel participating in the operation at risk.

Press access to institutions—to inform the public—is one of the fundamental pillars of democracy. From time to time, someone abuses this power to disrupt the normal functioning of this relationship between journalists and politicians. But vetoing someone's accreditation is always a dangerous rocky road to begin, because it leads to a steep decline, and if you're not careful, the car goes into overdrive. Now, in the midst of a militaristic wave, the Pentagon is closing its doors right in front of the main American media outlets, which are losing the ability to inform the world about what's going on in a place as sensitive as this. I wish Kubrick were alive to film the sequel to... Dr. Strangelove.