The Pentagon has refused to allow reporters the opportunity to embed with troops deployed to European countries amid a threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
While reporters have often embedded with troops during times of combat for decades, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters this week that no such approval would be imminent, sparking backlash and accusations of a lack of transparency.
The Pentagon Press Association Board of Directors called the decision “contrary to the basic principle of press freedom” and a “disservice to an American public in whose name these troops are deploying abroad” in a letter sent to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Wednesday.
“The public in a democratic society deserves independent media coverage of their sons and daughters in uniform, and that cannot be provided today without first-hand, on-the-ground reporting of troop activities in Europe,” the letter continued. “The Biden administration can choose to enable timely coverage in Europe or it can obstruct the public’s view of a military mission being paid for with taxpayer dollars.”
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When asked during a press briefing on Monday about who was responsible for the decision, Kirby said, “The buck stops with me. … We’re still working our way through what would be the appropriate level of media access here to what our troops are doing.”
He also acknowledged he heard the complaints but that it didn’t change the Defense Department’s stance at this time.
“Look, any decision to provide media access to our troops, whether it’s in an operational environment or training environment, is a decision that we take seriously,” he said during Wednesday’s briefing. “We don’t make decisions to grant access or not to grant access lightly, and there’s lots of factors that go into that. Sometimes it has to do with operational security. Sometimes it has to do with how that kind of access nests into the larger strategy that we’re pursuing.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday that approving embeds “has been our overarching approach.”
“I certainly understand the question and the desire to be embedded with troops and seeing what’s happening on the ground, just as many of you have reporters and outlets who are near the border or seeing what’s happening for yourselves the military buildup of troops,” she added.
Last week, President Joe Biden deployed roughly 3,000 troops to various Eastern European countries. The troops, which are not going to Ukraine but are instead going to other Eastern European allies, are separate from the U.S. troops on “heightened alert” for a possible deployment for a NATO response.
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The troops, some of which will be in Poland, may be used to help Americans who want to evacuate Ukraine, though they would likely not be able to enter the country. Rather, the troops would be used to facilitate the evacuation process after they meet up with U.S. forces in Poland.
Russia has amassed a significant military presence, with more than 100,000, Kirby said as recently as Wednesday, on the Ukrainian border, and the country is conducting training exercises in Belarus, another country that borders Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said he wants a firm commitment that NATO would not expand eastward, specifically to Ukraine.
