People Die in War
April 23rd, 2004The Department of Defense has ordered that no more pictures of the coffins of soldiers be released. Seeing the cost of our policies in Iraq is apparently too much for this administration to handle.
Saying it “reflects the families’ wishes” means very little. First of all I’m sure most families wished their loved ones were never sent into combat but that mattered very little. Second of all the return of our dead is an event and the American public has a right to see a record of it, period.
This hiding of reality is yet another symptom of the loss of freedom in this country. People die in war, and no policy can be properly evaluated unless you have all the facts. But since it’s an election year the price paid in American blood is more than anyone wants us to know.
It would be so simple to just blame Bush for this, but honestly I think it would happen no matter who was in office.
Photos of Soldiers’ Coffins Revive Controversy (washingtonpost.com)
After Dover Air Force Base, the main port for returning remains, released hundreds of government photos of the ceremonies, the Defense Department ordered yesterday that no more photographs be released. In addition, two employees for defense contractor Maytag Aircraft were fired after the Pentagon complained about a photo of flag-draped caskets taken by one of them that appeared in the Seattle Times.
