Caskets, I saw military Caskets on the Today Show

[Wickerman]

this morning. Tuned in for the weather, and they were showing military caskets. It was in stark contrast to the lack of such identifiable symbols of our war dead thus far into the war. Oh, but if you turned up the sound - it was Italian military officials honoring the "transporters" of their terroist dead.

This event hammered home to me the injustice the American public is being delivered by the media blackout on the display of IraqiWar caskets.

Curtains Ordered for Media Coverage of Returning Coffins

Since the end of the Vietnam War, presidents have worried that their military actions would lose support once the public glimpsed the remains of U.S. soldiers arriving at air bases in flag-draped caskets.

To this problem, the Bush administration has found a simple solution: It has ended the public dissemination of such images by banning news coverage and photography of dead soldiers' homecomings on all military bases.

[Frodo]

1. Is it true that this policy has been in place since 90-91?

Or did we see caskets coming home from Kosovo?

[Dr Fate]

2. Bush should repeal that rule...

That makes more sense than blaming Clinton. If Clinton OKed that, then he was wrong too, but BUSH is the prez now- it's all on him now...

[Frodo]

8. Clinton wasn't President in '90-'91

You can still blame Bush.

Of course, Clinton didn't change it. I actually think the rule is a good idea as stated (returning dead soldiers should NOT be used for political purposes or to improve TV ratings). It's just that in this instance, the media seems to be ignoring the "cost" of this war.

[Dr Fate]

11. good point that I had not thought of...

...and thanks for the needed correction...

[papau]

14. Clinton didn't change Bush41 rule - but he ordered it not be enforced

There are many photo's of flag on coffin from Bill's presidency.

Sadly for the GOP, there were no US combat deaths from Bill's stopping of the Balkan murders.

[Wickerman]

3. Well, if we count the war dead in the Kosovo conflict

I believe the question is moot.

But yes, the policy has been around. Someone, on the sig line here, uses the graphic of Clinton walking away from military coffins, I don't recall from where, sorry, head down. Its very powerful. It may be policy, but it was never as strongly enforced as as ridiculous as now.

[catmandu57]

4. I don't think there were any american deaths

in Kosovo. The rule you're thinking of was put in place by poppy the elder monkey during the first gulf war. I believe the photo is of american dead coming home from Somalia, another bush fiasco.

[Wickerman]

7. I assume you meant to reply to the other post

my point was there were no US war dead in Kosovo. And if the law went into effect in 90-91 that wouldn't be Clinton. Clinton didn't follow it, obviously, allowing himself to be photographed by coffins. It was a powerful image of a true leader, unlike our current sock puppet of a failed CEO.

[leftchick]

6. caladesi has the photo of Clinton...

Paying respect to our fallen soldiers. The last post of caladesi's I saw was in Bev Harris's thread about the chimpass trip to London.

[bushisanidiot]

13. The Freeps Criticize President Clinton For Showing Respect To

the fallen soldiers in that picture. They claim it was a photo op. They wouldn't know honesty, sincerity, and true patriotism if it bit them in the ass..

The hypocrisy is amazing.

[HFishbine]

5. Since '91

At the direction of Bush I during the firt Gulf War, but for Dover AFB only. The directive was not enforeced during the Clinton years. On the eve of GW's war, the directive was extended beyond Dover to include all US military bases.

I find this more disturbing however:

A White House spokesman said Bush has not attended any memorials or funerals for soldiers killed in action during his presidency as his predecessors had done, although he has met with families of fallen soldiers and has marked the loss of soldiers in Memorial Day and Sept. 11, 2001, remembrances.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A55816-2003Oct20¬Found=true

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

9. There were no caskets from Kosovo.

It was primarily an air campaign.

[Jacobin]

10. We didn't lose any soldiers in Kosovo!

:-)

[Frodo]

12. See?

THAT's the kind of policy I like to see!

(Ok, bombing from 30,000 ft is't my policy, but you get the idea).

I guess I was thinking of another conflict.