The Adventures of Chester: Not a great way to identify an anonymous source

An AP article, Marines Prop Up Ailing Local Gov't in Iraq (via the Washington Post), contains this snippet:

"There's been a concerted campaign against government officials that's had some great success ... the government center is nearly devoid of governance," said the top Marine intelligence officer for the 3rd Battalion, 8th Regiment, who asked not to be identified because of security policies for intelligence officers.

It's things like this that make me really wonder about some reporters. Unless 3/8 is in an unusual situation, there's probably only one intel officer in the battalion, and definitely not more than a few if more than one. What a way to screw up a source. On the same token, if I was an intel officer in Iraq, I'd avoid the press like the plague itself.

Posted by Chester on July 31, 2006 7:48 PM to The Adventures of Chester