vrijdag, april 23, 2004
Tami Silicio wanted mothers who had lost sons and daughters in Iraq to know the remains of their loved ones were being treated with respect and dignity. So she took a photo of rows of flag-draped coffins being loaded on to a cargo plane in Kuwait awaiting return to the U.S. and had a friend deliver it to her hometown newspaper, which put it on the front page.
And then she was fired.
Silicio had breached a policy of the Bush administration — it will not allow photos to be taken of the bodies or coffins of any of the more than 700 soldiers who have been killed in Iraq. The media blackout of such photos has sparked debate, with opponents of the Iraq war arguing the Pentagon is trying to sanitize the war by banning photos of a type that were so hugely symbolic of the Vietnam War. Silicio's photo was published on Page 1 of last Sunday's Seattle Times after a friend delivered it to the paper.
Wednesday she was fired, along with her husband, from their jobs after pressure from the Pentagon. The Pentagon said the photos were taken for historical purposes and should not have been released. Silicio told the Seattle Times she was sorry to lose her job and merely wanted families of fallen soldiers to know of the care demonstrated by crews taking their loved ones home.
Democrats have accused the Bush administration of manipulating war coverage. "These young men and women are heroes and this is the last long ride home," Senator Joe Biden, a Delaware Democrat, told CNN yesterday. "The idea that they are essentially snuck back into the country under the cover of night so no one can see that their casket has arrived, I just think is wrong."
The policy banning photos of arriving coffins was established by former president George H.W. Bush, but had been relaxed under president Bill Clinton. It was reaffirmed by the George W. Bush White House on the eve of the Iraqi war.
Bron: Toronto Star.
foto ZPA
And then she was fired.
Silicio had breached a policy of the Bush administration — it will not allow photos to be taken of the bodies or coffins of any of the more than 700 soldiers who have been killed in Iraq. The media blackout of such photos has sparked debate, with opponents of the Iraq war arguing the Pentagon is trying to sanitize the war by banning photos of a type that were so hugely symbolic of the Vietnam War. Silicio's photo was published on Page 1 of last Sunday's Seattle Times after a friend delivered it to the paper.
Wednesday she was fired, along with her husband, from their jobs after pressure from the Pentagon. The Pentagon said the photos were taken for historical purposes and should not have been released. Silicio told the Seattle Times she was sorry to lose her job and merely wanted families of fallen soldiers to know of the care demonstrated by crews taking their loved ones home.
Democrats have accused the Bush administration of manipulating war coverage. "These young men and women are heroes and this is the last long ride home," Senator Joe Biden, a Delaware Democrat, told CNN yesterday. "The idea that they are essentially snuck back into the country under the cover of night so no one can see that their casket has arrived, I just think is wrong."
The policy banning photos of arriving coffins was established by former president George H.W. Bush, but had been relaxed under president Bill Clinton. It was reaffirmed by the George W. Bush White House on the eve of the Iraqi war.
Bron: Toronto Star.
foto ZPA
# posted by Jan-Edward : 10:21
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