Handling Public Affairs for the Pentagon War Court

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Public Affairs during the wars Afghanistan and Iraq and at the War Court during Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s 9/11 confession with former Pentagon War Court Spokesperson Ann Peru Knabe. 

Knabe is currently an active Air Force Reservist and teaches public relations at the University of Wisconsin.  

01:21 — Gary Goldhammer asks what kind of food the detainees at Guantanamo are served.  

01:56 – Comparison of the food quality at the McDonald’s in Guantanamo Bay versus the McDonald’s off of Red Square in Beijing and the PR101 of media relations.  

03:30 – Handling public relations for the US Armed Forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom.  

04:28 –How Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen’s assertion that the war in Afghanistan is a war for the “trust and confidence” Afghani people translates tactically into a day in the life of US Armed Forces public affairs officer, internal communications as a catalyst for external communications and handling international media relations.  

06:56 – The challenge of dealing with journalists who try to get US Armed Forces to take a position on whether a war is right or wrong, since the decision to go to war is never made by the US Armed Forces, but rather by the President of the United States of America.  

08:19 – In the conversation age, how do US Armed Forces staffers “stay in their lane” and participate at the same time?  

08:52 – Participating in social media without compromising operational security.  

10:06 – How does the slogan “Every service member a spokesperson” translates tactically with respect to social media engagement for the US Armed Forces?  

10:47 – Social media governance for active US Air Force reservists who lead civilian and military lives.  

11:38 – U.S. Air Force community building effort on Facebook.  

11:57 – The location and organization of the Pentagon War Court, and whether or not it is governed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  

13:41 – Her experience handling public affairs at the Pentagon War Court when Khalid Sheik Muhammad’s confessed that he — along with two other detainees —  masterminded the 9/11 terrorist attacks in a hearing that was covered by 50 journalists and family members of those killed in those events.  

15:27 – The importance of due process, that everyone is innocent until proven guilty and that even alleged terrorists are entitled to the same protections as anyone who accused of a crime.  

15:54 – Major Danny Chung, United State Marine Corps assertion that the US Armed Forces fights for the freedom and liberty of the American  people to express their opinions, and Marine Corps Captain Matthew Hoh’s resignation as a testament to that fact.   1

6:56 – The notion among civil liberty activists that U.S. legal matters should be prosecuted by the Dept. of Justice in the U.S. Courts, and that the Pentagon War Court is unconstitutional.  

18:16 – The facts behind the Pentagon War Court and how it compares to the US Courts and links where people can research those comparisons in detail:

20:01 – Getting Cuban cigars in Guantanamo.  

20:37 – The war in Afghanistan, improvised explosive devices and whether or not the US can win an armed conflict in that country.  

23:05 — End