Do you need to be locked up in a mental asylum Robert, with a straight-jacket and an attendant with a butterfly net?
The secretary of defense got mad because AP showed a picture of a dying US Marine killed in Afghanistan . What's the matter Robert, afraid the public will find out about what's going on over there?
Gates said the wire service releasing the photo to the public was an "outrage," and that the parents of the Marine were victimized because they had to see their "child" dying in Afghanistan . Gates actually used the word "child."
Since when have you become a humanitarian Gates? You've never made a big deal out of the death of any other soldier before. Why now? Is it because of the picture and the public being able to see it? Do you want to pursue the 8-year war in private, in secrecy Gates?
You're the one who sent that man into harm's way in the first place Gates. Life Magazine used to run photos of soldiers killed in Vietnam , but Gates evidently expects to wage a 10, 20, or 30-year war without the public being able to see the end result.
I think Gates is worried that if the public can see casualties, they might not support the war as much as if they go about their daily lives blissfully ignorant of what's going on.
What do you think war is Gates? You of all people should know. You're the secretary of defense.
War is where people shoot at each other and people die.
To release or not release pictures to the public, this is a fitting question for America, because the issue goes all the way back to the Civil War, when the very first war photos taken by assistants to Matthew Brady were put on display in a studio. Horrified civilians found out that war was not a glorious parade with flags flying and bands playing.
You can't have it both ways Gates.
On the one hand you give vainglorious speeches about heroic men and women doing their duty defending us and the need for it, and then on the other hand fault the media for showing us.
I'm not going to speak for the Marine in question because he was a brave man. But he was a US Marine and a man, not a child as you describe him Gates. He must of known that what happened was possible, and accepted the risks.
If I had it my way, he never would have been sent to that village in the first place. We wouldn't waste any more time in a winless conflict that you Mister Gates and your predecessors have made a vague, open-ended conflict with no firm benchmarks in place to judge adequate progress.
It always mystifies me when the government expects public support for a war but don't trust the public enough to allow them the involvement of seeing first hand what their loyalty and tax money are supporting. In other words, to see the truth.
Gates, I have a little suggestion for you. Confine your energies to getting us out of the quagmire of Afghanistan , a country that has proven the ruin of every invader since Mark Anthony, and refrain from involving yourself in the public relations game of censorship, propaganda and political spin.
Very well said John. There are some who have accepted a faux patriotism that wants glorious and heroic symbols; while, simultaneously, ignoring the horror and human suffering that makes their symbols possible. Thank you for this necessary read.
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