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23-09-2025
WASHINGTON: The Pentagon has told journalists they must agree not to disclose unauthorized information or else risk losing access to the building.
The change is among a number of new restrictions, which also seek to impose limits on the movement of journalists within the facility, which is home to the Department of War, formerly known as the Department of Defense.
It follows a series of leaks in recent months.
Pete Hegseth, who was recently given the new title of Secretary of War, said on social media; “the ‘press’ does not run the Pentagon, the people do. The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility. Wear a badge and follow the rules or go home.”
The new restrictions were set out in a briefing note sent to members of the press, which they will be required to sign in order to maintain their Pentagon press credentials.
The department said it “remains committed to transparency to promote accountability and public trust” but it added; “DoW information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified”.
It asks signatories to acknowledge that determinations on press credentials for the building “may be based on the unauthorized access, attempted unauthorized access, or unauthorized disclosure” of classified national security information, or information designated as controlled unclassified information.
“The guidelines in the memo provided to credentialed resident media at the Pentagon reaffirms the standards that are already in line with every other military base in the country,” said Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell in a statement. “These are basic, common-sense guidelines to protect sensitive information as well as the protection of national security and the safety of all who work at the Pentagon.”
Hegseth has previously come under scrutiny for his own handling of sensitive information after it was revealed he shared details about the bombing of Yemen on a group chat that included a reporter in March. Former national security advisor Michael Waltz, who was recently confirmed as the US’s ambassador to the UN, had invited the journalist to the chat inadvertently.
The administration reacted angrily in June when a leaked intelligence report appeared to contradict statements it had made about the damage caused by US strikes on Iran’s nuclear program.
A couple of weeks ago, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday that directs the Department of Defense to be known as the Department of War.
The move restores a name the agency last held in the 1940s and, according to the text of the order seen by media, the aim is to “project strength and resolve”.
The department will initially use the new name as a “secondary title” while the administration seeks congressional approval to make the change permanent.
The White House is yet to say how much a rebrand would cost but US media expect a billion-dollar price tag for the overhaul of hundreds of agencies, emblems, email addresses and uniforms.
The Department of Defense (DoD) which oversees the US armed services, is the successor to the War Department, which was first established as a cabinet-level agency in 1789 and existed until 1947. The executive order says; “the name ‘Department of War’ conveys a stronger message of readiness and resolve compared to ‘Department of Defense,’ which emphasizes only defensive capabilities.” “I think it’s a much more appropriate name, in light of where the world is right now,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday, adding that “it sends a message of victory”. (Int’l News Desk)
