'Body Count' News Fueled Antiwar Sentiment During Vietnam Campaign

[Say_What]

On edit: Sorry I pasted the biline instead of the headline. The headline is: Pentagon Manages War Coverage By Limiting Coffin Pictures

<clips>

WASHINGTON -- One of the lessons the U.S. government apparently learned from the Vietnam War is this: Don't let the American public see coffins arriving home with U.S. casualties from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Coffin images during the Vietnam era -- along with photos and video of body bags in the field and military officials talking constantly about "body counts" -- had a tremendous impact in prompting antiwar sentiment at home.

In a move by the Bush administration to suppress distressing images of war, the Defense Department issued a directive last March on the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq that declared:

"There will be no arrival ceremonies for, or media coverage of, deceased military personnel returning to or departing from Ramstein (Germany) airbase or Dover (Del.) base, (and) to include interim stops."

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/helenthomas/2593688/detail.html

[Skittles]

1. DEAD SOLDIERS BOTHER US ????

ya THINK ????????????????????

[bleedingheart]

2. It should bother people that the government HIDES BODY COUNTS!

Typical of the hypocritical republicans to blather on and on about how government is out to "get ya"...yet when they are in office where is the transparency in government...where is the honesty?

[edzontar]

3. Our wounded ones either...hide them away!!!!

Why is the media complicit in this deception?

Why do I even ask?

[Qutzupalotl]

4. Really!

I wish some smartass anchor would say EVERY NIGHT on the news, "The Bush administration has forbidden us to mention the number of dead soldiers who arrived home today."

[demgurl]

5. This infuriates me.

They don't want us to have a reaction that we deserve to voice, so they manipulate everything to get the support they need. I wish people would wake up and I wish the media would report the truth.

Christina

[saigon68]

6. These BASTARDS blame the press for the loss in Viet-Nam

And one way to stop this from happening again (In their eyes) is to control the Media.

REMMBER PANAMA

REMEMBER GRENADA

REMEMBER DESERT STORM

All dress rehersals to CONTROL the Media. and now they OWN the media.

I have heard that there is a shoot to kill order at various places to prevent unauthorized access to photography of the coffins--body bags etc.

Its a propaganda WAR with the American people and their right to know what happens.

[Dr Fate]

7. Bush "hates our freedoms" too...

....since this is what passes for "freedom" now-a-days....

I could imagine Saddam or the Prez. of China issuing a similar order, considering they do not have freedom of the press either...

[Kolesar]

8. It's called "controlling the message"

They are shifting the message to the rebuilding of Iraq. Marvin Kalb did an excellent report on this for NPR/ATC last week.