Funny how Bush had no problem showing fire-fighters carrying coffins wrapped in the Stars and Stripes when it came to his re-election commercial.

Yet strangely he doesnt think its necessary to see these US soldiers. The media has done no wrong, the photo's are powerful and deserve to be seen.

This is war and its a sanitised one where little 'real' death is ever actually seen, unless its an Iraqi one. Instead its just numbers, numbers, numbers.....112 dead this month.

Odd but one picture of a coffin means more than another number pumped into my head.

Jon,I must respectfully disagree with you in your
view of the media.I think this may be one of the
few times since the onset of the war in Iraq that
the Media HAS shown responsibility.By showing the
coffins maybe they are slapping the public upside
the skull and showing them the grim realty that
Ali Bush & His Forty Thieves don't want us to see.

This IS war with all of it's death,destruction and
ugliness intact.These are humans not a blip on a
friggin' video screen.Maybe,just maybe images such
as these and others will help convince all of the
armchair patriots out there that there is a VERY
serious problem in Iraq and there is no real end
forseeable at this point other than more & more
flag draped coffins and overtime for undertakers.
IMO.

Actually my understanding is that theMemoryhole.com requested the photos through Freedom of Information and received images from Feb 1, 2003 onwards. The space shuttle astronauts were apparently processed through Dover after that date just as the Iraqi casulties were leading to the inadvertant misidentification.

I find it interesting that everyone immediately jumps to the conclusion that its all a big plot of the "liberal" media to undermine the war effort...on the reverse I've already heard some claim the military mixed in the NASA photos purposefully to discredit The Memory Hole.

I suspect that both sides need to shut up, stop finger-pointing and cease the headlong rush to judgement.

"This IS war with all of it's death,destruction and
ugliness intact"
yeah, but if they were so bothered about image, why don't they shoe in-action shots of the dead, like they did in so many other conflicts?
unless you're seriously trynig to tell me NONE of the MAJPR news networks managed to get such footage?
I'll bet they did, but they judged pictures of coffins to be more conducive to ratings. After all, it's more acceptable than seeing how the people were actually killed. But then that returns to my point about the media only wanting to show what's bound to get them ratings. Fair enough, they aren't charity, but i disagree with them using shots of other dead people to "demonstrate" the dead killed in Iraq
And i would argue almost the opposite; that showing coffins draped in flags is almost encouraging fellow countrymen/women to volunteer. After all, you are being shown the honour without the gore or sheer terror that comes with it.

The fault was the Air Force, not the 'liberal' media.

BTW: I don't care where they came from; show 600 copies of the same flag-draped coffin if that helps Americans to understand the sacrifices inherent in this war BUSH should never have instigated.

PS: Anonymous dead don't get near the attention as an ex-NFL football player. Imagine how the parents of those 'anonymous' dead feel watching a football stadium filled with tearful strangers wanting to honor their hero.

Too late, sorry dean, i had not seen that extra info, but thanks for the heads-up!

And imagine an Air Force that gets photos mislabeled or mixed up.

"You bombed what?! Oh shit, sir! That wasn't the terrorist headquarters; it was a day care center!"

feh.

Either way, it was inexcusable.

"PS: Anonymous dead don't get near the attention as an ex-NFL football player. Imagine how the parents of those 'anonymous' dead feel watching a football stadium filled with tearful strangers wanting to honor their hero."
that's fair enough, but imagine how the parents of all the victims of AIDs or cancer and so no feel too. And they didn't get to choose to possibly die for their country, it just happened to them. They didn't get all of their pics on the news, because Iraq is a hot topic but AIDs no longer is. Excuse my cynicism, but i worked in a newsagents for long enough to get a flavour of how national newspapers work. I also developed a rash during this time...

Pictures of coffins are not pictures of the dead. The pictures we are discussing are anonymous boxes with flags on them, whether filled with dead shuttle astronauts, soldiers or bon bons. The amazing thing is the controversy itself. War photos, including close up photos of the dead, are important to our collective memory and should help frame the ongoing debate about the "righteousness" of the conflict. I remember that we had a debate about the need to invade a country based upon weapons that did not exist. Now, censorship is advocated as well. I, for one, am tired of being snookered. Let me see the photos, disgusting or not! It is my duty to the fallen to see them, just as going to a wake is my obligation to be a witness to those who are not amongst us anymore.

I've had enough with this 'murrican bullshit.

You owe me $5.

Contact me for paypal info.

Utter nonsense. People die in wars. There is nothing wrong with recognizing that reality. Not recognizing it is a problem. It encourages a collective delusion. Furthermore, whoever put up the pictures without identifying the people in them is at fault for misidentification -- not "the media." I realize commenters made these points before I did, but sometimes things need to be repeated for emphasis.

This is one of those hours when I wonder if much of the American populace is stupid or something. This should not even need to be argued about. Have a war and hide the casualties? Please. On another thread, people are trying to recreate the Jessica Lynch myth with the middle-class white guy who died in Afghanistan. More of the same. Myth making while reality is ignored or covered up.

"Funny how Bush had no problem showing fire-fighters carrying coffins wrapped in the Stars and Stripes when it came to his re-election commercial.

Yet strangely he doesnt think its necessary to see these US soldiers."

I have no problem with the photographs, myself. But you should remember that this particular policy has been in place since 1991. If it was good enough for Bush the Elder and BJ Clinton, why not GW?

Look, if u guys can show Princess Diana "dying" in her car which the rest of the world had/has refused to show. On a programme that added nothing new to the hundreds that had been broadcast. Simply regurgitating the French report which is the source of doubt and conspiracy theories the world over. The purpose of the show was clearly to feed the morbid interests of people by showing these pics. If that line has already been crossed, why draw a line on soldiers coffins?!

Bush just doesn't want this shown because he and his cronies don't think the pics reflect well on their administration.