PhillyKev 0 #1 April 21, 2004 From "Curtains Ordered for Media Coverage of Returning Coffins" by Dana Milbank (Washington Post, 21 Oct 2003): Since the end of the Vietnam War, presidents have worried that their military actions would lose support once the public glimpsed the remains of U.S. soldiers arriving at air bases in flag-draped caskets. To this problem, the Bush administration has found a simple solution: It has ended the public dissemination of such images by banning news coverage and photography of dead soldiers' homecomings on all military bases. In March, on the eve of the Iraq war, a directive arrived from the Pentagon at U.S. military bases. "There will be no arrival ceremonies for, or media coverage of, deceased military personnel returning to or departing from Ramstein [Germany] airbase or Dover [Del.] base, to include interim stops," the Defense Department said, referring to the major ports for the returning remains. A Pentagon spokeswoman said the military-wide policy actually dates from about November 2000 -- the last days of the Clinton administration -- but it apparently went unheeded and unenforced, as images of caskets returning from the Afghanistan war appeared on television broadcasts and in newspapers until early this year [2003]. Though Dover Air Force Base, which has the military's largest mortuary, has had restrictions for 12 years, others "may not have been familiar with the policy," the spokeswoman said. This year, "we've really tried to enforce it." Lately, several photos which evade this ban have surfaced. http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/coffin_photos/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kpjumps 0 #2 April 21, 2004 I suppose not showing the pictures is a political thing to keep people from thinking about the dead soldiers. As a child who lost her father due to Vietnam, I think not making the pictures public is the only respectful choice. That is a pain families should not obligated to share with the world. Maybe the decision was made for the wrong reason, but I think it was a good decision. _________Your character will ultimately determine your destiny. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
markd_nscr986 0 #3 April 21, 2004 Er, umm...... did we not beat this to death last week when a previous thread had the very same photos attached with a similar remarks?Marc SCR 6046 SCS 3004 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sdgregory 0 #4 April 22, 2004 QuoteI suppose not showing the pictures is a political thing to keep people from thinking about the dead soldiers. As a child who lost her father due to Vietnam, I think not making the pictures public is the only respectful choice. That is a pain families should not obligated to share with the world. Maybe the decision was made for the wrong reason, but I think it was a good decision. _________ I very much agree. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron 10 #5 April 22, 2004 QuoteA Pentagon spokeswoman said the military-wide policy actually dates from about November 2000 -- the last days of the Clinton administration Ohhh lookie, lookie....But I guess this is a Bush thing right?"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,174 #6 April 22, 2004 QuoteQuoteA Pentagon spokeswoman said the military-wide policy actually dates from about November 2000 -- the last days of the Clinton administration Ohhh lookie, lookie....But I guess this is a Bush thing right? Well, the administration is pushing photos in support of their position; US troops playing with Iraqi kids and passing out food, etc., to raise public support.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron 10 #7 April 22, 2004 QuoteWell, the administration is pushing photos in support of their position; US troops playing with Iraqi kids and passing out food, etc., to raise public support. ------------------------------------------ Yep, but this thread is about how we are not showing the coffins of our dead....You guys love to say that this kind of stuff is a Bush ploy..But in this case it was Clinton."No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
b1jercat 0 #8 April 22, 2004 Well atleast it 's not Clinton putting the kids in the coffins and it's one less vote for Bush. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoadRash 0 #9 April 22, 2004 Quote and it's one less vote for Bush. ::shakes head::...that is one really sick way of looking at it... ~R+R~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Fly the friendly skies...^_^...})ii({...^_~... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kpjumps 0 #10 April 22, 2004 and completely disrespectful to the young man or woman who made the ultimate sacrifice. No matter what your political opinion, they DO deserve our respect, __________________Your character will ultimately determine your destiny. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron 10 #11 April 22, 2004 QuoteWell atleast it 's not Clinton putting the kids in the coffins and it's one less vote for Bush. Clintons inactions leading up to Bushes term has just as much to do with the current situation as Bush does...Some would say more. He did nothing about OBL, or Saddam. Ever hear of a stitch in time saves nine? If Clinton was not to busy getting hummers in the White House and actually DID handle the issues around the world....9/11 and Iraq would not have been issues."No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pajarito 0 #12 April 22, 2004 QuoteWell atleast it 's not Clinton putting the kids in the coffins and it's one less vote for Bush. Have you ever served in a combat unit? The indifference in your statement leads me to think that you no nothing of what you're talking about. I completely agree with kpjumps. Our dead coming back in coffins should not be about politics like you're trying to make it. You need to show some respect for the fallen military in those coffins. They, as well as many before them, are dying or have died so you can have the right to take for granted the freedoms that you enjoy every day of your life. Maybe you don't mean your statement to sound like that. Sometimes meaning is lost in typed words. If I'm wrong, I appologize. It just sounds very tacky and disrespectful to me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #13 April 22, 2004 QuoteQuoteA Pentagon spokeswoman said the military-wide policy actually dates from about November 2000 -- the last days of the Clinton administration Ohhh lookie, lookie....But I guess this is a Bush thing right? Convenient how you left out the rest of that sentence.. "but it apparently went unheeded and unenforced, as images of caskets returning from the Afghanistan war appeared on television broadcasts and in newspapers until early this year [2003]. " And the paragraph above where it says: "n March, on the eve of the Iraq war, a directive arrived from the Pentagon at U.S. military bases. "There will be no arrival ceremonies for, or media coverage of, deceased military personnel returning to or departing from Ramstein [Germany] airbase or Dover [Del.] base, to include interim stops," the Defense Department said, " Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
feuergnom 29 #14 April 22, 2004 very obvioulsy the officials forgot to develop warning tags for this situation: danger! war can result in the death of our soldiers nad loved ones .... i am not an american & i definitely don't want to be disrespectfull to those who did their duty - but to hide the obvious seems to me like censorship. if the u.s. government is so afraid of people/media reaction on war, dead soldiers returning in coffins etc - why did they start the f**** conflict firsthand?The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle dudeist skydiver # 666 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflyguy 0 #15 April 22, 2004 I don't have any "side" in all this, but this just in from Yahoo. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001909527_coffin22m.html oops. ---------------------------- bzzzz Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron 10 #16 April 22, 2004 QuoteConvenient how you left out the rest of that sentence.. "but it apparently went unheeded and unenforced, as images of caskets returning from the Afghanistan war appeared on television broadcasts and in newspapers until early this year [2003]. " Well go fiqure no one paying attention to Clinton about military matters? The military hated Clinton. He had no Loyalty, no sense of Duty, no Respect, His idea of Selfless service was how fast he could get to Canada, or how fast he could get the pants of an intern, No integrity and no courage. And Clinton, not Bush could have stopped 9-11 and the Gulf War 2. His lack of action let the threats grow. QuoteAnd the paragraph above where it says: "n March, on the eve of the Iraq war, a directive arrived from the Pentagon at U.S. military bases. "There will be no arrival ceremonies for, or media coverage of, deceased military personnel returning to or departing from Ramstein [Germany] airbase or Dover [Del.] base, to include interim stops," the Defense Department said, " And there should not be. The Brits are up in arms about a guy showing Diana's last moments....Death should not be glamorized....And its a really dirty tactic to show pictures of dead Americans for political reasons. Maybe we should get some pictures of the innocent dead that Kerry admitted to firing on in the free fire zones?"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #17 April 22, 2004 QuoteDeath should not be glamorized....And its a really dirty tactic to show pictures of dead Americans for political reasons. They are flag draped coffins, they're not showing bodies, or even names. It's a dirty tactic to censor images of reality for political purposes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron 10 #18 April 22, 2004 QuoteThey are flag draped coffins, they're not showing bodies, or even names If your Son had died in that conflict...Would you care its not his body? And you seemed to avoid the whole show "Hero Kerry's" killings."No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,131 #19 April 22, 2004 >If your Son had died in that conflict...Would you care its not his body? I think it would bother me more that the government wanted to prevent anyone from seeing even his flag-covered coffin. I agree that such images are pretty emotional. But that's true on both sides of the fence. If emotional images are what you want to ban, make sure you also take care of the pictures of blown-up Hamas leaders and images of the burning WTC. Banning only one kind of picture is an attempt to make a political point using emotion. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron 10 #20 April 22, 2004 QuoteBanning only one kind of picture is an attempt to make a political point using emotion. And showing them is the same thing. And if you don't like it...Blame Clinton."No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,131 #21 April 22, 2004 >And showing them is the same thing. No, showing _all_ the pictures (of coffins, 9/11, blown up people in the US, Iraq and Afghanistan) is just allowing free press. Showing none of them might well be an attempt to prevent emotional and disturbing pictures from affecting people. Showing only the pictures that are good for your side is playing politics with people's grief. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron 10 #22 April 22, 2004 Like I said...Don't like it...Blame Clinton."No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 26 #23 April 22, 2004 Bill, I don't think the Pentagon is in control of _all_ the photos. Just the ones in question here. I don't know what they'd do if they were in control of all of them, I'm just pointing out that they're not.-- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,131 #24 April 22, 2004 >Like I said...Don't like it...Blame Clinton. I don't like or dislike it. The pictures don't bother me; US soldiers dying bothers me as much whether I see the pictures of their coffins or not. But keep blaming if you like. It seems a popular pastime here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skyrad 0 #25 April 22, 2004 Is this a attempt to make a political point using emotion? This picture of G W Bush was made using the faces of the fallen in Iraq. It and a simillar one of Blair were published in a national newspaper here in London today. I'm curious as to what you all think about the image. http://amleft.blogspot.com/archives/2004_04_01_amleft_archive.html#108112087436221697 http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=513949When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy. Lucius Annaeus Seneca Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
