McNorton said the team contacts bloggers to inform the writers about any given topic that may have been posted on their site. This outreach effort enables the team to offer complete information to bloggers by inviting them to visit CENTCOM's Web site for news releases, data or imagery.

The team engages bloggers who are posting inaccurate or untrue information, as well as bloggers who are posting incomplete information. They extend a friendly invitation to all bloggers to visit the command's Web site.

The team's motto is "Engage," and Flowers and others work with more than 250 bloggers to try to disseminate news about the good work being done by U.S. forces in the global war on terror. The effort, officials here said, has reached more than 17 million online readers.

"We were given the mission to do electronic media engagement," Flowers said. "The idea was put forth that so many people are getting their news from online sources that we would be remiss if we neglected that audience."

Flowers is one of three people who read blogs and try to drive Internet readers to the CENTCOM Web site, where readers can learn more about operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

"We don't go in there and get into a debate," he said. And officials here are quick to point out that they are not policing Web sites. They are simply offering bloggers the opportunity to get raw information directly from the source.

One of the members of this team is Army Spc. Patrick Ziegler, who has recently created a MemeStreams account.

McNorton said the team contacts bloggers to inform the writers about any given topic that may have been posted on their site. This outreach effort enables the team to offer complete information to bloggers by inviting them to visit CENTCOM's Web site for news releases, data or imagery.

The team engages bloggers who are posting inaccurate or untrue information, as well as bloggers who are posting incomplete information. They extend a friendly invitation to all bloggers to visit the command's Web site...

"We don't go in there and get into a debate," he said.

One of the members of this team is Army Spc. Patrick Ziegler, who has recently created a MemeStreams account.

A friend of mine used to be a manager at a telemarketing call center. She said they had a high employee attrition rate because the people who worked there would take it personally when they got hung up on or yelled at by the people they were cold calling. I was kind of amazed by that. I figured if you were in telemarketing you knew what you were in for.

This sort of reminds me of that. Running around the blogosphere posting serious information without getting emotionally involved in the chorus of opinions being lobbed at you requires a spectacular degree of detachment. Its certainly easier then getting shot at on the streets of Iraq, but its about as close as the Internet gets.