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Cost of war hits home as coffin photos released |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Saturday, 30 April 2005 |
April 30, 2005
Washington: From a row of silhouetted hearses on a rain-drenched tarmac to a convoy of olive-green trucks, each bearing a coffin, more than 700 images of flag-draped caskets of American service personnel killed at war have been released by the Pentagon in response to a lawsuit.
The photographs, taken by military photographers between 2001 and 2004, include one of a coffin containing the body of an American sailor sliding over the edge of the navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise during a burial-at-sea ceremony. Others show rows of coffins, and many depict solemn honour guard ceremonies for the fallen troops at US bases.
"This is an important victory for the American people, for the families of troops killed in the line of duty during wartime, and for the honour of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country," said Ralph Begleiter, of the University of Delaware.
The release of the photographs was spurred by a lawsuit filed last October by Professor Begleiter. He had sought the release under the Freedom of Information Act.
"This significant decision by the Pentagon should make it difficult, if not impossible, for any US government in the future to hide the human cost of war from the American people," Professor Begleiter said.
However, the Pentagon said the release of the photos, which it termed "historical documentation", did not signify any lifting of the ban on media coverage of returning casualties. That ban, imposed in January 1991 during the Gulf War and continued by President George Bush with the start of the Afghanistan war in October 2001, is intended to "ensure privacy and respect is given to the families who have lost their loved ones", said Colonel Gary Keck, a Pentagon spokesman.
However, Republican and Democratic administrations have made several exceptions to the ban over the past 10 years.
Many of the photos released were censored, with black rectangles blocking out faces, uniform insignia, name tags and other images that could reveal the identities of military personnel involved in the honour ceremonies.
"Individual judgements were made to black out some faces and identifying information to protect privacy information," said James Turner, a Pentagon spokesman, offering no further explanation.
Earlier publications of both private and military photographs of flag-draped coffins have spurred intense debate in the US military, with some arguing that the images honour military sacrifice and others contending they were used to make an anti-war statement.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Cost-of-war-hits-home-as-coffin-photos-released/2005/04/29/1114635747905.html?oneclick=true |
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