The US Department of War decided to prevent journalists from entering its press office, considering that it now includes employees in possession of military secrets that must be protected from media curiosity. The Pentagon had previously imposed restrictions on the movements of media personnel within the ministry and obliged them to sign pledges not to seek to obtain or publish some information except after explicit approval from the ministry, which practically led to local and international media correspondents giving up their credentials with the US Department of Defense as an expression of their refusal to sign those pledges. What are the motives for these actions? Does protecting defense secrets require restricting journalistic work? Do national security considerations conflict with the public’s right to obtain information outside of official data about a ministry that manages a huge public budget and whose decisions affect the lives of people inside and outside the United States?