it's been elsewhere, but.....from the BBC....


Pentagon fury at war dead photos


The Pentagon says the ban is to protect soldiers' families
The Pentagon has reacted angrily to the publication on US websites of photos of America's war dead arriving home.
Defence officials had banned publicity of the return of bodies from Iraq, but were forced to release images after a freedom-of-information court action.

Photos of coffins at the main military mortuary appeared on the web, prompting a Pentagon information crackdown.

Meanwhile, a US cargo worker has been fired after her photo of flag-draped coffins was used by a US newspaper.

Tami Silicio, 50, was dismissed by military contractor Maytag Aircraft Corp after she sent the photo to a friend who, with her permission, gave it to The Seattle Times for publication.

Since the beginning of the war, the media has been banned from Dover Air Force base in Delaware - the US military's largest mortuary - where the coffins of American soldiers have been arriving.

But photographs of flag-draped coffins were released last week to activist Russ Kick, who filed a Freedom of Information Act request to receive the images.

Renewed ban

After Mr Kick posted more than 350 photographs on his website, the memoryhole.org, the Pentagon barred further release of the images to media outlets.

"The photos will not be released through Air Force channels," said Air Force spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer Cassidy, who added that requests for their release could be made under the same act.

"They're not happy with the release of the photos," said Dover Air Force base spokesman Col Jon Anderson of the Pentagon.

Defence officials said the purpose of the ban was to protect the privacy of soldiers' families.

"Quite frankly, we don't want the remains of our service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice to be the subject of any kind of attention that is unwarranted or undignified," John Molino, a deputy undersecretary of defence, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.

But the practice is widely criticised.

"We need to stop hiding the deaths of our young," said Jane Bright of California, who lost a son in combat last year. "We need to be open about their deaths."


I must admit that I don't understand this. It smacks to me of being far more like censorship than anything else. Protecting victims families? Who knows who is in the coffin anyway? I really do tend to believe it has far more to do with trying to keep war support up and less to do with any concern for the families of the soldiers. However, I would like to hear other opinions on this. Perhaps I am missing something.


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