The Bush Administration is enforcing orders that media crews be restricted from photographing or filming the flag covered coffins of fallen soldiers whose bodies are being flow home from Iraq. The justification is that to publish these images and videos in various news outlets violates the soldier’s and family’s privacy. The military ban on such occurrences was setup in 1991, but has since then been relaxed under the claim that it unjustly censors the media. Media crews were permitted to film honor guard ceremonies held in honor of those who lost their lives in Afghanistan and on board the USS Cole, when it was bombed. Only now has this issue of respect and privacy resurfaced and the ban being actively enforced.
To me this is less about the honor and respect of fallen soldiers, and most certainly an attempt by the Bush administration to head off any negative press about the casualties piling up in Iraq. The fact of the matter is that American military and Iraqi civilian casualties are on the rise as the occupied country becomes more and more destabilized. Bush’s lack of identification with and respect for American soldiers aside, the plan here is to prevent the recognition of the allegedly “honored” dead as not to diminish support for the war, and in turn Bush’s chances for reelection. The statement about family privacy is simply absurd on the basis that there are no external markings on the caskets that would, in any way, violate any ambiguous definition of privacy.
If the obvious political agenda was apparent and insulting enough, please allow me to point out the hypocrisy for you. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve more than likely had to watch one of Bush’s colorful and somewhat nauseating (ok maybe that’s just me) reelection ads on television. It would appear that Bush isn’t bound to the same “honor” and “privacy” code as the rest of us. One Bush ad titled Safer, Stronger features a video montage in which firefighters can be seen carrying the flag covered body of a fallen comrade from the World Trade Center rubble. The use of this video footage does not only show what little respect Bush himself has for the rules he is forcing on others, but shows how tasteless and discourteous he is willing to be to win a second term. In this case, casting tragic events in certain lights for purely political gain, and using imagery that he says violates privacy to tug on the heart strings of potential voters.
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I’ll try to mention other aspects of the trip that were not quite as sensational including our trip to the Coors Brewery. Though, I would like to mention our visit to the University of Colorado at Boulder. All I’d really like to say is that it is an amazing campus with remarkable esthetics and that I’ll be making frequent trips, should my sister decide to attend. I was amused by the fact that the University had a large display in its student center commemorating national sexual assault awareness month. Anyone else demented enough to laugh about that? --- 