WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | Pentagon restricts access to images of returning war dead

Pentagon restricts access to images of returning war dead

(Pentagon-AP) April 23, 2004 - Pentagon officials are defending their policy of restricting media coverage of soldiers killed in war. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense John Molino says that kind of attention is "unwarranted" and "undignified."

The Web site of First Amendment activist Russ Kick published photos of American war dead arriving at the nation's largest military mortuary, prompting the Pentagon to order an information clampdown. He got the images, mostly flag-draped coffins, by filing a Freedom of Information Act request.

After Kick posted more than 350 photographs on his Web site, the Defense Department barred the further release of the photographs to media outlets. Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt told ABC's "Good Morning America" from Iraq that US military policy clearly states that the first people who should be able to see their dead loved ones are family.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) says the DoD did the right thing, "When our fallen soldiers come home, give the families a chance to regroup, view the remains on their terms."

Critics say Americans need to see these powerful images which bring home the consequences of the war. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Washington), "This is not about privacy. This is about trying to keep the country from facing the reality of war." More than 700 Americans have been killed in Iraq, including more than 100 this month.

The Pentagon clampdown also followed the firing of two American cargo worker based in Kuwait by a military contractor. A photo of flag-draped coffins had been published earlier in The Seattle Times. 

The company says they violated Department of Defense and company policies. One of the workers told ABC she agreed to the photo's publication so that family members of fallen troops can see that their remains are treated with respect.

Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Gary Keck says Defense Department rules prohibit media coverage of human remains arriving at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. Keck says the coverage "is unwarranted or undignified."

War protesters have criticized President Bush for continuing the practice of previous administrations of not allowing the public or media to witness the arrival of remains at the base.

updated 9:19pm by Chris Rees