CTVNEWS

Gates tightens interview rules after McChrystal flap

The Associated Press Published Friday, July 2, 2010 10:32PM EDT

President Barack Obama, joined by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates at right, tells reporters during a Cabinet meeting that he thinks Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the commander of Western forces in Afghanistan, used "poor judgment" in speaking candidly during an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, June 22, 2010. Gen. McChrystal has been summoned to Washington to answer for the unflattering remarks about senior Obama Administration officials. (AP / J. Scott Applewhite)

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WASHINGTON - Defence Secretary Robert Gates has ordered top military officials to tell the Pentagon's public affairs branch before giving interviews.

The move follows an embarrassing episode that led to the removal last week of the commanding general in Afghanistan. But Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell says the move to tighten control on information was in the works long before that.

Morrell says the order Gates issued Friday isn't meant to restrict information or press access to officials.

But he says Gates was fed up with leaks.

In the memo, Gates wrote that he wants the military to be as accessible as possible but is concerned it "has grown lax" in how it engages with the media.