Gates Orders Review of Policy That Bars Photographers From Taking Pictures of Soldiers’ Coffins

[ClarkUSA]

Thanks for doing the right things so damned quickly, President Obama.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested on Tuesday that he was open to allowing the media to photograph the flag-draped coffins of fallen soldiers as their bodies and remains are returned to the United States...

He said he was ordering a review of the military policy that bars photographers from taking pictures of the return of the
coffins, most of which are coming from Iraq and Afghanistan and go through Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. He also
set a "short deadline" for a decision. The military has said the policy is meant to protect the privacy of the families of the
dead soldiers and maintain dignity. But skeptics, who include some families as well as opponents of the war in Iraq, say
that the bodies in the returning coffins are not publicly identified, so privacy is not an issue, and that barring photographers
is a political maneuver meant to sanitize the war... His comments followed those of President Obama, who said at his news
conference Monday night that "we are in the process of reviewing those policies in conversations with the Department of
Defense."

A White House official said Tuesday that Mr. Obama had ordered some of his top foreign policy aides to review the matter
and that they would look at past practices and possibly meet with families of fallen soldiers to solicit their views. The review
appears to be a priority for Mr. Obama... An effort in Congress to overturn the current ban has had little support, but
Representative Walter Jones, a Republican from North Carolina, said Tuesday that he would renew his push for legislation
to allow the media access when coffins come home.

Mr. Jones voted for the use of force in Iraq and helped lead the effort to rename French fries in the House cafeteria as
"freedom fries." But he came to regret his vote after he attended the funeral of a local Marine, and he began writing
letters to people who had lost a loved one in the war. He said today that by now he has written more than 8,000 letters.

"If it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind," Mr. Jones said of the war. "People don’t think about it unless they have a visual."

[firedupdem]

1. Very Good!

This administration is moving quickly, even with the economic issues to get a lot of our issues addressed.

shrub and dick... So quick to go to war but not proud of the dead returning? Hiding their caskets is unpatriotic you slimy jerks!

[ClarkUSA]

2. He's been 44 less than a month and for liberals/progressives, it's been a great ride so far!

[HOLOS]

3. Excellent

[lunatica]

4. The privacy rationalization is false

If families have members who are willing to fight for their country and give their lives that's a commitment of patriotism and love for their country. Why would they suddenly not want their country to see them return after giving their lives for it?

I really hate that kind of lie. It's insidious and it's false and just an excuse to save their asses. They suddenly feign concern and simpathy for the families of men they sent to an illegal war? Please! What? It's OK to go to war publicly but giving your life suddenly becomes a privacy issue? FUCK! That just pisses me off.

We're supposed to cheer when they march off to war but we're not supposed to see the price they pay?

[asphalt.jungle]

5. i thought we were lead to believe cabinet members ...

did their own thing and the president who appointed them has no influence over the policy they implement? :sarcasm:

at least that's the feeling i got when reading all the hand wringing at various sites after he picked each cabinet member.

[Occam Bandage]

8. ...and that Gates was an evil neocon who would continue the Bush legacy... nt

[Occam Bandage]

6. Even more good news. nt

[FLyellowdog]

7. We owe these heroes at least that much respect.

We're either proud of their sacrifice or want to hide it. I vote, proud.:patriot:

[ellacott]

9. Joe Biden was even barred from escorting those coffins

When he was a Senator he said he got a call from a constituent who wanted to meet their son's coffin at Dover. He wasn't allowed to enter that area. He was very angry about that.

[Cha]

10. Rec'd~ And, as Senator Lautenberg says..

<snips>

"President Obama is under more pressure this week to let media cameras cover the arrival of war dead at Dover Air Force Base. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, in a letter to Obama provided to Whispers, said, "I respectfully urge you to work to bring an end to the misguided policies of the past that seek to hide the sacrifice of our soldiers and the public recognition and pride that should accompany it." The policy is controversial on all sides: Some claim the government wants to soften the impact of many coffins being pictured at once; others say taking pictures is disrespectful. Lautenberg has been outspoken on the issue for several years and pushed for a reversal of the policy in 2004, in the middle of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Officials say that Lautenberg, a Democrat from New Jersey, and the administration have been discussing the policy. "Throughout our nation's history, it has been a tradition for our nation to honor fallen military men and women when their flag-draped caskets are flown home from war operations overseas. Seeing these returning caskets prompts a national sense of shared pain and sacrifice, as well as gratitude and pride," the senator said in the letter.

His letter comes as HBO debuts the movie Taking Chance, starring Kevin Bacon, which will also give this issue more attention. The flick is gut-wrenching and depicts the caskets of fallen soldiers as they arrive at the Delaware air base. But it also details another practice that hasn't gotten much ink. After service members who have been killed in action are brought to Dover, they are accompanied to their hometowns with a uniformed escort and are saluted at every stop along the way. In Taking Chance, Bacon's character is based on Marine Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, who volunteered for escort duty upon seeing that he and a fallen marine shared the same hometown. The movie chronicles Bacon's escort duty from Delaware to Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps's funeral service in Wyoming. Bacon tells Whispers that he was unfamiliar with this practice before reading the movie script. And while the actor has played a marine in the movies three times, he says that this role was by far the most difficult. "It's a lot about expressions and trying to play it with your eyes and not your words," he says."

<more>
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2009/2/10/lautenberg-to-obama-dont-hide-our-fallen-troops-at-dover-air-force-base.html

[MADem]

11. That Family Privacy Excuse has always been a load of bullshit.

It's not like the name of the deceased is stencilled on the aluminum casket (aka "transfer case") in foot high letters. In fact, every casket looks the same (they are reuseable, you see--inside the casket is a body bag--aka HRP, Human Remains Pouch-- with the remains of the servicemember in it, and a reusable pouch containing the personnel records, and a plastic sack containing his/her uniform if there's a dress uniform available amongst his or her personal effects). The transfer cases, which are reminiscent of giant photographers' cases, with snap locks and an airtight seal, are rinsed out after they've done their job, and sent back to the mortuary unit that is operational in a casualty locale.

However, there's no personal identification visible from the exterior of a flag-draped casket, and consequently, no privacy violation. They all look precisely the same. You can't tell if it's Henry or Susie in that box from looking at it.

HRP's, in two sizes: http://www.todiefor.biz/govtspec.htm

Mortuary Packs: https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=0969eeba74fc8d827e73be9efa15c86e&tab=core&_cview=0
NSN 9930 00 724 5566 „³ MORTUARY PACK, CONTAINS: One (1) Plastic Shroud Sheet-WHITE, 72 inch by 108 inch; 0ne (1) Chin Strap; Two (2) Cellulose Pads ; Two (2) 60 inch Ties; Three (3) 36 inch Ties; Three (3) ID Tags; One (1) Resuable Poly Bag for Personal Belongings of Deceased (at least 8 inch by 10 inch)

Transfer Cases: https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=c6663f1a8fc2407248ade0e4ba6cd599&tab=core&_cview=0
Case, Transfer, Human Remains - aluminum; 7.354 feet long; 2.354 feet wide; 1.630 feet high; stainless steel handle (spring loaded) military peculiar item, natural color...