Oops, a Top Secret Tweet?

A case in point how social networking is hitting smack dab into traditional governmental operations. From CNet:

For security reasons, the congressional delegation led by House Minority Leader John Boehner to Iraq today was supposed to be secret. Everything had been going fine in that regard. Even media outlets that knew of the trip, like the Congressional Quarterly, kept a lid on the news.

That was, until Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.) twittered his arrival into Baghdad. "Just landed in Baghdad. I believe it may be first time I've had bb service in Iraq. 11th trip here," he sent from his BlackBerry

You would think the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee would know better. You can check out Hoekstra's rogue twitter post here.

Nextgov sister publication Hotline reported this yesterday:

Hoekstra spokesperson Dave Yonkman said Hoekstra "never agreed to anything as far as not disclosing it (beforehand) or during," and that he "would never put himself or anyone at risk." Yonkman: "Congressman Hoekstra believes in giving people in West Michigan as much information as possible. ... Posting Twitters gives people as much insight as possible into the sights and sounds of his activities." Hoekstra "is expected to return" from Iraq today, "according to his Twitter account"