Cynthetiq

Do you find this difficult? Did you agree with the photo ban? How does seeing a casket make you feel?

This doesn't change my opinion of war. War is a shitty thing. It is the worst side of humanity. This is why I'm okay with torture, because it is just like war. I find both reprehensible and horrific, but it is what the human can do in the most extreme and the most negative. It is the yang to all the great humanitarian things that have been accomplished.

I don't mind the photos and the caskets, it is a reality of war. It is the price of war. It is the price our citizens pay.

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Grancey

I did not agree with the photo ban. I felt that the ban was put in place to try to make Americans immune to the actualities of war. I believe the government thought that if we didn't see the pictures of the coffins then we wouldn't be aware of how many men and women were losing their lives. I've been to Arlington. The emotions I had I will never forget. These photos should not be hidden. These people lost their lives for us. They deserve an immense amount of respect.

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ametc

Pictures like that humanizes the military men and women for me even more. I was raised a military brat, so the military has always been a part of my life.

It's good I was raised in a military community because everybody else's parents were going through the same stuff mine were.

Personally, I'm glad the ban has been lifted. Like most people, I don't think war is entirely neccesary. But, politicians are selfish and suck and honestly.. I hope that changes in the near future. We've been dealing with bad people as our leaders for way too long.

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SSJTWIZTA

people die in war. even my friends 5 year old kid can tell you that.

showing those flag covered coffins can really drive home certain points, though.

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Willravel

I disagree with the photo ban 100%. If people don't want to deal with war, they should end it.

Put it this way, do you think photos of coffins impacted support of WW2? I doubt it. Iraq and A-stan? Yeah, it would. That speaks in volumes.

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Poppinjay

I was just getting started in journalism when the ban went into effect, and it actually made things worse. There were rumours about thousands of body bags being made and the obfuscation from the Bush I team did nothing to clear up any fears.

Our casualties for that were what, 141 dead from combat missions?

All the ban did was heighten suspicions that thousands of our troops would get killed. Like the second gulf war.

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braisler

Like previous posters I adamantly disagreed with the ban on photos of military coffins. I think that this ongoing war is too far removed from impacting the lives of citizens in this country. The ban on photos was just one arm of masking the evils of war from the American public. The reversal is a credit to the Obama administration in just doing the right thing.

I do think that the right to photograph should be allowed or disallowed solely at the discretion of the family of the killed soldier.

ngdawg

I don't know the exact reasons why there was a ban, but I can venture a guess that in having one, exploitation wouldn't be an issue, respect for the families of the fallen would be maintained and yes, we get "shielded". As a PGR member, I am not allowed to photograph any part of the actual funeral-mourners or the casket-without direct permission from the family. I detest the photographers that come and stick their 500mm lenses into the throngs to get that perfect shot of a crying mother.

I think perhaps the movie, Taking Chance, had a lot to do with this ban lifting. It removes almost all of the mystery of what takes place from the war zone to the cemetery and does so with dignity and respect.

As long as photographs are only done with the permission of the family and/or the CAO, I have no problem with it.

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Craven Morehead

I saw a news piece on how the ban came into effect during Desert Storm. It showed video of a split screen broadcast, on one side was coffins being offloaded from a military transport plane and on the other side of the screen it showed President Bush joking around during a news conference. Hence, the ban. I can see two sides to the ban. One, since there can be no guarantee how the pictures would be used, to protect the solemnity of the event and preserve respect, no photos were permitted. On the other side, a cynical view as to why the Bush administration banned the photos.

snowy

Well said, Grancey.

People need to know how horrible war is, and what the human cost of war is. The pictures of coffins will never give us an inkling of the number of lives lost on the other side of the coin, but it is a start.

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Katyanna

I have a friend who is touring the country right now in a black bus with the names of the soldiers who have died inscribed on it. She was widowed at the young age of 23, her husband was the love of her life. She has made it a personal mission to see to it that these soldiers are not forgotten and to help provide some measure of comfort to widows like herself. How do you think one feels to hear simply that 2 or three soldiers have died in incident X? Though I do not feel that showing caskets is going to better help them to be remembered, I do feel that it brings it home that these deaths are human and not simply numbers.

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Baraka_Guru

We're quite open about it here in Canada. We've even renamed one of the highways that carries the dead back to us--the Highway of Heroes.

No Media Ban on Soldiers’ Coffins in Britain or Canada - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com

I think it's a very democratic thing to be open and honest about casualties of war. We need to be reminded of the detestation of war with each loss of life, for these lives are lost in our name.

Included here some shots along the Highway of Heroes (aka Highway 401)

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FuglyStick

I was already out of the service at the time of Desert Storm. I have a brother who is serving in Afghanistan right now, however.

I don't believe for one second that the reason the White House put a ban on pictures of caskets coming home was out of any "respect" for the soldiers who have died. Like so much of the Bush presidency, it was an attempt to protect policy without regards for the human cost. It may be possible to argue the potential for abuse, but that potential does not nullify the importance of the truth.

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KellyC

Put me down for indifference. War is ugly. Picture or no picture will not conceal that fact.

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Slims

I don't think the ban should have been lifted.

I feel it is undignified for a dead-soldier to have paparazzi.

The press are accomplishing absolutely nothing by photographing the homecoming of our fallen soldiers except further politicizing their sacrifices.

I am a soldier and I have discussed this matter with those I work with. To a man every single one of them felt it was undignified and did not want to be a part of any media-circus in the event they died in combat. Especially those with families...apparently wives will have to render a decision about media coverage shortly after finding out their husband is dead.

Photographs of caskets do not add any substance to the news articles about the war, the lives lead by those soldiers, or the actions leading to their deaths. They only serve to attract attention and stir the emotions of those who see them...for better or worse.



However, I do part significantly with much of the military community with regard to footage of soldiers dying. If the footage is somewhat removed and dignified, I have no problem with footage showing the full reality of what troops suffer and fight through...that at least has the ability to give people a glimpse into that world and to increase our understanding of what war really is.

Edit: Of course, nobody has any business sticking a camera in the face of someone who is breathing their last. I am mostly referring to predator footage, helmet cams, etc.

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highthief

As others have said, the ban was 100% political, nothing else. I'm glad the current administration has lifted the ban.

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