The following article, as well as the times it's been mentioned on tv, have gotten me thinking about the repealing of the ban placed by Bush back during the Gulf War of seeing photos/videos in the MSM of our returning war dead.
I see this from two points of view. First, the families' wishes should be adhered to more than anything. It is their privacy rights that would be violated by lifting this ban. Also, the MAIN reason that Obama wants it lifted is to aid the liberals in trashing the war and anything and anyone having to do with it, including our heroes who have sacrificed everything. For that reason alone, I think it best that Obama leave the law alone.
The plus side of repealing the law, or the "silver lining" to this liberal cloud, is that no American should ever forget what these brave men and women gave up for each and every one of us. Instead of viewing it as a "hate Bush" agenda, which is what Obama's intentions are, I see it as a "love and honor our troops" agenda. I am a huge supporter of Q's website, www.iraqwarheroes.org, which does list even more than the dod does as far as deaths of those who fought in this war. But when you look at his photos, never does the thought "i hate this war" cross your mind. Rather, the thought "these men and women loved our country enough to die for her" crosses my mind and stays there.
Sadly, I don't think that a moral agenda will be adhered to in repealing this law--rather, the far left kooks will use it to exploit our heroes. Therefore, I ultimately oppose the lifting of the ban.
So if you want to feel that patriotic goosebump feeling about our brave men and women, I would suggest that you make it a point to subscribe to Q's blog at www.myspace.com/qfocal and visit his page often www.iraqwarheroes.org and ignore the code pinkos who will abuse the incoming photos if Obama does lift this law.
God bless our troops!
President Obama Considering Lifting Ban on Photographing War Dead
President Barack Obama has ordered the
Pentagon to review the ban on news media coverage of repatriation ceremonies for the nation's returning war dead at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The ban was put in place by President George H. W. Bush in the run up to the first Gulf War in 1991 and has remained in effect for the entire 18 years since. During the Iraq War, anti-war groups and opponents of President George W. Bush's policies in the war on terror agitated to have the ban lifted. They charged that the Bush Administration was using the coverage ban to shield the public from the true cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Most military families appreciate the lack of coverage of the arrival of their loved one's flag-draped coffin, although the general public favors greater public access to the ceremonies. Sixty-four percent of military families in a recent poll said that they wanted the policy to remain unchanged. One respondent spoke for many families of the fallen when she said, "This was out precious son, not a political statement." Another, however, said that the ban should be lifted so that more Americans would be made aware of the sacrifices of hers and other mothers' sons and daughters.
Opponents of the coverage ban would have greater weight to their arguments if the news media did not provide the near constant coverage of casualties from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the height of the Iraq War, the media counted up American casualties in anticipation of grim "milestones" like the 2000th American killed, and the 3000th and 4000th. The public is well aware of the true costs of the war on terror without one picture of coffins arriving home for the final time. That is why the policy should remain unchanged. President Obama should ignore his radical anti-war support base and choose to respect the sacrifices of the fallen by continuing the prudent policy that gives America's beloved dead and their families a dignified moment of privacy and honor.