Don't read that!
Time Magazine reports that the Pentagon instructed its personnel not to read or obtain a copy of the Taguba report at the Fox News web site, because it's classified.
The Pentagon's Information Services Customer Liason notified staff by e-mail that the release of the report was the object of a criminal investigation, and so downloading and reading the publicly-accessible-yet-classified report would complicate matters:
From: Information Services Customer Liaison, ISD
Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 12:45 PM
To: MLA dd - USD(I) - ALL; MLA dd - NII ALL
Subject: URGENT IT BULLETIN: Tugabe Report (FOUO)
Importance: High
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
AUDIENCE
All ISD Customers
SUMMARY
Fox News and other media outlets are distributing the Tugabe report (spelling is approximate for reasons which will become obvious momentarily). Someone has given the news media classified information and they are distributing it. THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT IS CLASSIFIED. ALL ISD CUSTOMERS SHOULD:
1) NOT GO TO FOX NEWS TO READ OR OBTAIN A COPY
2) NOT comment on this to anyone, friends, family etc.
3) NOT delete the file if you receive it via e-mail, but
4) CALL THE ISD HELPDESK AT 602-2627 IMMEDIATELY
This leakage will be investigated for criminal prosecution. If you don't have the document and have never had legitimate access, please do not complicate the investigative processes by seeking information. Again, THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT IS CLASSIFIED; DO NOT GO TO FOX NEWS TO READ OR OBTAIN A COPY.
ASSISTANCE
If you have any questions, please contact the ISD Helpdesk at 703-602-2627 or via email at isdhelpdesk@osd.mil.
Thank you for your cooperation.
INFORMATION SERVICES DIRECTORATE
This may contain information exempt from mandatory disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
[n.b. The red font was contained in the original e-mail.]
The person who released the e-mail to Time commented, "I do wonder how incredibly stupid some people in the Pentagon are. Not only are they drawing everyone's attention to the report -- and where it can be seen -- but attempting to muzzle people never works."
A couple of questions:
- As the e-mail acknowledges, other media outlets are distributing the report. So why the specific instruction not to access the report at the Fox News web site?
- If you're trying to restrict access to information, why tell people where to find it?
- Why does the e-mailer intentionally misspell the Taguba report's name? So people will have a more difficult time calling it up on Google? Does he think people are that stupid? Or is it to give himself plausible deniability from the accusation of encouraging others to read the report? Or is it that the e-mail itself will be hard to find in subsequent investigations into the Pentagon's response to the report if the e-mail misspells the report's title?
- What do we make of the last line: "This may contain information exempt from mandatory disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)"?
Putting the investigation aside, I cannot think of a better thing for military personnel to do than to read the Taguba report.
12:13:00 PM 
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