Photographer fired for flag-draped coffin photo

[Theophylact]

We're not allowed to see this stuff:

Since 1991, the Pentagon has banned the media from taking pictures of caskets being returned to the United States.

They fired her husband, too, just for good measure.

Here's a Seattle Times column about the photo, the firing, and the war.

[ExSuS]

Silicio, a Seattle native working as a contract employee in Kuwait, took the photograph earlier this month and sent it to a friend here, wanting to show how well the fallen are cared for by the military.
How they are escorted by uniformed guards, saluted and prayed over.
How they are never alone

I see nothing wrong with her intentions.She didnt get paid for it (or so the arcticle says). Personaly I dont see anything wrong with what she did.Firing her husband was just wrong too.

[vass0922]

She broke the rules - thats the bottom line
Its just like when the guy took a picture inside the Microsoft warehouse of Macs... he broke the rules so he got fired.

Firing her husband I don't agree with
Firing her... yep, she broke the rules

Military doesn't BS about rules

[pickel]

Military doesn't BS about rules

Bush's BS rule. If you don't see the return of the dead, they didn't die.Hide the truth once again. I think Kerry sucks but nothing could be worse than Bush.

[jmebonner]

Pickel...

"Since 1991, the Pentagon has banned the media from taking pictures of caskets being returned to the United States."

Pentagon's rule. Even then it may be a Bush rule, but not the younger one.

[chipbgt]

Bush's BS rule. If you don't see the return of the dead, they didn't die.Hide the truth once again. I think Kerry sucks but nothing could be worse than Bush.

Oh come on now. The media makes every point of keeping a death count updated so americans know exactly how many have died in hopes of enraging more people. Kerry makes a point of saying "How many more of our children will we send off to die."

There is no mystery that people are dying in wars.

Plain and simple, she broke the rules. It doesnt matter if her intentions are noble or not, she broke em, she surely knew them, and no amount of "well I just wanted to show the care taken blah blah blah" really matters to the pentagon.

I would like to know more about why her husband was fired though.

edit: FURTHERMORE, as stated it was the pentagons rule and not Bush SR or Bush JR. If it was you could ask Clinton why he didnt have the ruled changed....maybe even he agreed with it.

[super gerbil]

Also maybe the families of the soldiers don't want to have others see them.

If it is Bushes rule then you would scold him if he let people take pictures

[MTAtech]

What caused President Johnson to not seek a second term was the evening news showing fallen soldiers from Vietnam returning in coffins.

Since Vietnam, the military has succeeded in managing what reports and photographers see and thus, what we see and hear about. It is no managing the news in order to control our behavior. It is no different than government sponsored propaganda.

For democracy to reign, we need a free and independent press - not one managed by the Pentagon.

[chipbgt]

...so that we can all see the glory of the black madonna covered in elephant dung......freedom of expression/press has its downsides also.

[Gomer]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/South/04/....ap/index.html

361 images from Dover AFB here:
http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/coffin_photos/dover/