Want To Know America's Security Secrets? Check Twitter
It makes you wonder what people are thinking. A secret trip to Iraq was detailed on Twitter by a congressman who was supposed to, oh, I don't know, keep it a secret:
Peter Hoekstra, a Republican, revealed that he was part of the delegation in numerous updates to his Twitter account.'Just landed in Baghdad. I believe it may be first time I've had bb [BlackBerry] service in Iraq. 11th trip here,' he wrote.
Hoekstra, 55, continued to post details about the party's itinerary every few hours, despite the fact that none of the delegation were supposed to let anyone know the details of their travels.
His last post read: 'Moved into green zone by helicopter Iraqi flag now over palace.
'Headed to new US embassy. Appears calmer less chaotic than previous here [sic].'
It is not known whether Iraqi insurgents useTwitter - but if any of them do, they would no doubt be interested in the progress of a U.S. House Intelligence Committee, critics pointed out.
"This is a serious security blunder by the US government,' senior technology consultant at security firm Sophos Graham Cluley said.
'The Republican congressman is not only putting himself at risk with his careless Twittering, but also the people tasked with protecting him,' he added.
'Although these sites are evolving into great networking tools, security and common sense is crucial: even more so when you are a high-ranking government official.'
However Hoekstra's staff denied that he was revealing classified information, and insisted that the visit was already public knowledge.
'Congressman Hoekstra very much views Twitter as a valuable means to get information out to his constituents in real time,' said Jamal Ware, his communications director.
'He believes people are looking for transparency in government and accountability.'
He added: 'The Iraq trip was not classified and he tweets were about giving people access to the sights and sounds of his congressional activities.'
I'll let you write your own jokes.
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