Pentagon revises law of war manual after criticism of press treatment
The Pentagon on Friday updated its law of war manual after a previous version came under fire for appearing to allow commanders to treat journalists as belligerents or spies.
The U.S. Department of Defense manual, the first and most comprehensive of its kind, was first released last June. It compared some of the tasks of journalism to spying or other hostile actions by an enemy.
The manual said some journalists may be considered "unprivileged belligerents" -- a legal category with fewer protections than combatants, such as prisoner-of-war status.
"Reporting on military operations can be very similar to collecting intelligence or even spying," one passage of the manual said.
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