"this will not be another vietnam"

[rone]

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.

This story thanks to schwa242.

Comments

[lots42.livejournal.com]

I wonder, would *I* want a loved one's casket on CNN?

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Yeah, i guess that's the thing... if someone DID want that, they can't anymore. If it were because a large majority of military families didn't want it to happen, it's an obvious solution. But if it's just there to protect the CiC's ego, then it's crap.

[nothings.livejournal.com]

Wait, that's not the case at all. It says that at individual graveside ceremonies, it's up to family members whether cameras can be present. It's just the "tour" that they're blocking.

[rimrunner.livejournal.com]

'Scuse me while I go crank my cynicism up another notch...

[opadit.livejournal.com]

My dad took a job here in the States shortly after graduation from university (he was born and raised in Canada). Although it complicated his taxes for almost two decades, he didn't become a naturalized American citizen until the 1980's. A big reason why he didn't do it in 1966 was because he thought the war in Vietnam was incredibly stupid and he wanted no part of the draft. He tells me that hearing Walter Cronkite read the casualty reports every single night was terribly depressing.