The Pentagon’s decision to lift a ban on photographing flag-draped coffins is not only a long-overdue milestone for journalism in this country, but a symbolic gesture that a new era of openness with the American people has begun.
The change in media policy came on Thursday when Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in a press conference that the Pentagon will lift its official ban on the photographing coffins of America’s war casualties traveling from overseas to Dover Air Force base in Delaware.
The decision was not made without sensitivity to the families of the deceased, however, and Gates rightly pointed out that the permission of these family members should – and will – be solicited before the publishing of any photos.
“I have decided that the decision regarding media coverage of the dignified transfer process at Dover should be made by those most directly affected: the families,” Gates said.
This reversal of two decades of misguided policy is a crucial step in the never-ending task abiding by the principles of our democratic society. It is both fundamentally important for the credibility of a free press as watchdog, as well as for reminding the ever-forgetful public of the sacrifices these men and women have made, and continue to make, in service to our great country.
Whether or not one agrees with the military effort these courageous individuals enlisted to serve, we cannot forget that they fought and died doing the work many of us are unwilling to do, and their return to their home soil should be acknowledged and respected.
A blanket ban on media coverage does more to ignore their honorable service and sweeps under the rug the inevitable result of any military campaign than it does to respect the deceased. Bans on any level, be it gun control, birth control or even anti-smoking efforts, will do more to incite questions and fuel opposition than induce the desired effect.
Yet, inevitably, this important policy reversal has already triggered outrage and opposition among a great number of Americans. Understandably, those most opposed include families of the victims, the very people the lifting of the ban seeks to honor and acknowledge.
John Ellsworth, president of Military Families United, a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to supporting America’s military families, said in an open letter to Gates that of nearly a thousand member households that responded to its poll, over 85 percent said that the ban should not be lifted.
According to Ellsworth, a proud father of a son who gave his life in service, the organization “heard from mothers terrified that their fallen hero would be used as political propaganda; from fathers who didn’t want to have to answer media questions as they watched their sons come home; and from parents who wanted their solemn moment to remain private and far from the media lenses.”
These concerns are very understandable, should be respected and have not fallen on deaf ears. What Gates made clear in his statement is that family consent is the priority.
Not all groups dedicated to veterans and military families disapprove of this decision. VoteVets.org chairman Jon Stoltz, an Iraq veteran, said the lifting of the ban “truly honors the sacrifice of the men and women who fight for our country.”
The National Military Family Association issued a statement last week that said it also agreed with the decision, and further applauding Gates for “his recognition that individual families must play a part” in whether photos be published of the coffins.
The ban has its roots in the U.S.-led invasion of Panama in 1989, when bad timing placed former President George H.W. Bush before live cameras, joking with White House reporters before a Christmas holiday just as the first casualties were arriving at Dover Air Force Base. CNN and two other news networks aired split-screen images of a laughing president and the flag-draped coffins being unloaded off the planes.
Days before the Gulf War in January 1991, the new policy was formalized by the Department of Defense.
Opposition to the policy reversal warn these images will be exploited by a liberal media, but historically, this is not a partisan issue. The Clinton administration upheld the policy and George W. Bush as a candidate reaped the full benefits of an exception to it when the coffins of victims of the USS Cole terrorist bombing were allowed to be photographed at Dover, just weeks before the 2000 election.
Now that the ban will officially be lifted and the families of the dead will have the rightful say whether they want a photograph of their son or daughter’s casket published, Americans will once again have a powerful medium to remind them – in case they need it – of the human cost of war and the price so many Americans have paid in service to their country.
It is now in the media’s hands to show the same kind of responsibility in portraying the return of our soldiers’ remains objectively and not serve any cause other than the public’s right to know what is happening in the name of our freedom.
Matt Fountain is a journalism senior and a Mustang Daily reporter and photographer.