Photographs of flag-draped coffins bearing American casualties from Iraq should not have been made public under a Pentagon policy prohibiting media coverage of human remains, officials said. "Quite frankly, we don't want the remains of our service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice to be the subject of any kind of attention that is unwarranted or undignified," said John Molino, a deputy undersecretary of defense.
A web site published dozens of photographs of American war dead arriving at the nation's largest military mortuary, prompting the Pentagon to order an information clampdown. Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Gary Keck said release of the photos appears to be in conflict with policy. The photographs were released to First Amendment activist Russ Kick, who had filed a Freedom of Information Act request to receive the images. Air Force officials initially denied the request but decided to release the photos after Kick appealed their decision.
Shame on you, Mr. Rumsfeld. The United States Air Force published their own photos of flag-draped coffins last month. Since removed, this photo was available on March 24 on the Air Force website:
http://public.dover.amc.af.mil/org/msg/svs/svs/mortuary.html
The sudden spread of the Dover photos of flag-draped caskets returning from Iraq came a day after Tami Silicio and her husband and co-worker, David Landry, were fired for the photo she took at Kuwait International Airport of caskets in an aircraft. The photo was published Sunday on the front page of the Seattle Times. "We have terminated two employees in Kuwait who violated Department of Defense and company policy by working together to photograph and publish the flag-draped caskets of our servicemen and women being returned to the United States," said William Silva, president of Maytag Aircraft, the Colorado Springs-based military contractor that employed Silicio and her husband. Silva said the firing decision was made by the company but the military had "very specific concerns" about the photo.
Shame on you, Mr. Rumsfeld.
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