Why are pic's of US soldiers caskets from Iraq in a US media blackout?

Question

Not news-worthy I guess?

Answer 1

For all those that said because Bush doesn't want the public to see, that's totally incorrect and bogus bullsh*t. You don't even have respect for the dead by posting crap like that. That's the very reason it's not allowed to be on the news or photographed by the media.

The blackout is out of respect for the dead and the families. The families do have the option to have media present. Most, for obvious reasons choose not to. The death of a loved one is not meant to be a media circus. I could see the lies that would come from it if it was allowed. Just look at the replies here. A military funeral is about honor and pride. Not fueling the media. It's one of the smartest things Congress has ever passed.

Answer 2

They may not show pictures of caskets, but every day we are bombared with negative facts on the war. Daily statstics of dead and wounded are shoved in our faces...I don't think the families need to be disrepected by showing caskets every day as well.

People are dying over there, but are also accomplishing SO much good. WHY don't we ever hear about that? I think THAT'S where the media black out you speak of is. I've heard about all of the good from people WHO HAVE BEEN THERE, so don't try to tell me it's political progaganda.

Answer 3

Because G.W.Bush, and his administration doesnt want people to see the results of their actions. The government is run by corporate America, companies like Halliburton, General Electric, and Lockheed Martin, makers of fine weapons systems for the military, and are showing record profits from the war. They want it to go on for as long as possible. After all, there are profits to be had! Like Larry A Silverstein, who has the lease on the WTC complex, which was loosing money, needed to be upgraded just to come up to building codes, and contained asbestos, and would cost a fortune to rehab. Thank goodness he had the forethought to take out a BUNCH of insurance on it, stipulating that if it were destroyed by terrorists, He would get 7 billion dollars, and the right to rebuild it! Of coarse, doing the demo would cost a fortune as well, so, he, and the current administration got together, and made a deal. Rumsfeld would get his"new Pearl Harbor", Bush would get the war he so much wanted, and Silverstein would get rid of the WTC complex, make a profit, and get to rebuild the damn thing. Please see the links below, and also type into your search engine "Silverstein Properties", there you will see proof that this man actually held a 99 year lease on the property. BTW, building 7 of the WTC was never hit by a plane, or terrorists, but yet it still collapsed. Wonder why? Oh, yeah, because it held evidence of the trade practices of Corporations like Enron, and WorldCom, and the millionaires who did the illegal trades would have to pay for their crimes if it wasnt destroyed. Enjoy :)

Answer 4

What about respect for the Family of the Soldier and the Soldier do you NOT get?

Answer 5

There are two schools of thought here:

1) Because the Bush Administration believes, and they're probably right, that seeing the coffins coming back from Iraq will decrease support for the Iraq War.

2) The Administration themselves say the following: the policy "relieves all bases of the difficult logistics of assembling family members and deciding which troops should get which types of ceremonies."

Answer 6

its against the policy of the department of defense and it was ratified by congress.

Senate allows ban on photos of soldiers' caskets to stand
The Senate voted yesterday against legislation that would have required the Department of Defense to create new rules permitting photographers to cover the arrival and departure of caskets of military personnel killed abroad
June 22, 2004 -- The U.S. Senate voted 54-39 yesterday against legislation that would have instructed the Department of Defense to develop new rules permitting photographers on U.S. military bases to cover the arrival and departure of caskets containing the remains of soldiers killed overseas.

The measure was proposed by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) as an amendment to a $447.2 billion Pentagon spending bill for 2005. It was modified to allow the families of the fallen soldiers to decide whether they wanted media present. Republican Senators Olympia Snowe of Maine and John McCain of Arizona voted in favor of the bill, while seven Democrats joined 47 Republicans in opposition.

Although a policy banning media coverage of military caskets arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware has been in place since 1991, it had not been regularly followed.

To encourage compliance with the 13-year-old policy, the Pentagon issued a directive in March 2003, at the onset of the war in Iraq, stating that there would be no coverage of "deceased military personnel returning to or departing from" air bases. The Pentagon has cited the privacy rights of those killed and their families, even though the caskets are always closed in transport.

"But this requirement, this directive requiring strict censorship issued just as the Iraq war began prevents the American people from seeing the truth about what is happening," Lautenberg said from the Senate floor yesterday.

Thus far, 830 U.S. troops have died in Iraq, according to the Department of Defense.

The American Society of Media Photographers compares the photography blackout to the recently proposed ban of photography in New York City's subway system.

"These are all issues, instances that make it more difficult for editorial photographers to do their job and exercise their First Amendment rights," said Eugene Mopsik, executive director of the Pennsylvania-based organization. "I really don't see this as a privacy issue."

The U.S. government released numerous photographs earlier this month of the flag-draped casket of former President Ronald Reagan. It further allowed public viewing and photography of the former commander-in-chief's casket.

In April, First Amendment advocate Russ Kick published a collection of 288 photos of caskets of the war dead, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, on his Web site, www.thememoryhole.org. Kick requested, "All photographs showing caskets (or other devices) containing the remains of U.S. military personnel at Dover AFB . . . includ[ing], but not be limited to, caskets arriving, caskets departing, and any funerary rites/rituals being performed" from Feb. 1, 2003 on. Moreover, 73 photographs depicting the caskets of the fallen astronauts of the Columbia space shuttle were also released by Air Force Mobility Command. All pictures were taken by Air Force photographers.

Kick's request was initially denied, but later granted on appeal. The Pentagon has since said releasing the photographs was a mistake.

Answer 7

The families of fallen soldiers have requested that the media not be allowed to view or take pictures and respect their privacy. I think it started late in the Vietnam War.

Answer 8

Out of respect for the dead and their families. If the media had its way they would be peeking inside the caskets with their cameras.

Answer 9

Similar pictures were used during the Vietnam war. It propelled citizens to take a closer look at the war and they objected. They were very vocal.

Bush and his media minions are aware of the impact. So, in support of George's regime they act in concert to suppress pictures of the current war.

Answer 10

Same reason all those people jumping off WTC were not shown by the media.