Say Anything Blog

John Kerry thinks Bush is trying to hide something by disallowing photos of the coffins of deceased soldiers.

From Reuters:

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry Sunday accused President Bush of trying to hide the consequences of the Iraq war by restricting photographs of flag-draped coffins returning home from the conflict.

Under a policy that Bush endorses, the Pentagon (news - web sites) tightly restricts publication or broadcast of photographs of coffins with the remains of U.S. troops.

And it forbids journalists from taking pictures at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the first stop for the bodies of troops being sent home.

"I believe that keeping faith with those who serve also requires us to understand the sacrifice they're making and to honor it when they come home to the fullest measure," Kerry told a rally here.

"We shouldn't hide that from America," he added. "If they are good enough to fight and die, they are good enough to be received home with full honors in America."

I find it odd that Kerry would think that the deceased soldiers wouldn't be fully honored until they have photos of their coffins published in newspapers and on television. Isn't a full honor guard and the presence of their friends and family enough?

Unfortunately, honoring the soldiers isn't the real reason behind Kerry's "outrage" on this issue. He simply wants to use the imagery of the coffins in a political attack on the President. Hence his claim that the President is "hiding something" by not allowing the photos.

My question is, how can the President be hiding the deaths in Iraq when every U.S. casualty in the middle-east is a newspaper headline? The press goes through great pains to ensure that the body count for U.S. soldiers in Iraq is accurate and up-to-date. What additional information would photos of coffins provide us with?

To be honest, I wouldn't have a problem if a newspaper ran photos of my coffin had I died in Iraq. I also wouldn't have a problem with photos of the coffin of a loved one. The problem is, some people might have a problem with it. If we allow the press to take photos of the coffins then every coffin is going to be photographed wether the family likes it or not. The President is trying to respect the wishes of the families of the soldiers as best he can.

Not having photos of coffins available to the press seems like a rather small price to pay in order to give the families of soldiers that respect.