Milbank: Pentagon shouldn’t hide military deaths from the public.
Milbank: Pentagon shouldn’t hide military deaths from the public.
In his column today, The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank details the difficulty the press has when trying to cover military funerals, writing that “the de facto ban on media at Arlington funerals fits neatly with an effort by the administration to sanitize the war in Iraq.” He describes trying to attend the funeral for Lt. Col. Billy Hall yesterday:
It had the feel of a throwback to Donald Rumsfeld’s Pentagon, when the military cracked down on photographs of flag-draped caskets returning home from the war. Rumsfeld himself was exposed for failing to sign by hand the condolence letters he sent to the next of kin. His successor, Robert Gates, has brought some glasnost to the Pentagon, but the military funerals remain tightly controlled. Even when families approve media coverage for a funeral, the journalists are held at a distance for the pageantry — the caisson, the band, the firing party, “Taps,” the presenting of the flag — then whisked away when the service itself begins.
Milbank said that the Pentagon’s policy of keeping the reality of military deaths away from Americans “has contributed to a public boredom with the war.”
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
It is the Bushco Ostrich Syndrome! Just stick your head someplace dark and it will all go away.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:36 amWOW…WHAT A REVELATION THEY’RE HAVING OVER THERE AT WAPO
SOMETHING WE’VE KNOWN FOR 7 YEARS NOW.
MAYBE WHEN THEY JOIN THE REST OF US HERE IN THE 21ST CENTURY…..THEY MIGHT BE JUST AS HORRIFIED.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:36 amWe’ve outsourced our boots-on-the-ground military to the low-income, disadvantaged, and minorities of our society. Sharing a goal through shared sacrifice? Not the BushCo way.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:39 amDumb Question:
The returning soldiers from Iran / Afghanistan say that they don’t get the warm fuzzy reception / support from the American people. They say that the American people aren’t engaged enough to keep up with what is going on. etc.
By suppressing the news of the deaths, is not the government fostering an environment which does not recognize the work and sacrifice of the military ?
And if I can figure that out (and most folks would say I’m anti-military although I say I am anti-”use of the military for immoral actions”), why can’t the WH figure that out ?
April 24th, 2008 at 10:40 am“Milbank said that the Pentagon’s policy of keeping the reality of military deaths away from Americans “has contributed to a public boredom with the war.”I don`t think boredom is an appropriate word to describe our soldiers dying or being wounded is boring, I think it is disgustingly sad that this war is happening and this is a sad commentary and it`s lack of compasion for our from the press.Shame on you Mr. Milbank. As a progressive American who is against this war(occupation) I would choose the words like outrage, disgusting and Illegal but not BOREDOM.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:44 amTHERE WHOLE SITUATION IS BUILT ON LIE AFTER LIE AFTER LIE!!!
NEVER EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE TRUST ANY GOVT OFFICE…. EVER!
April 24th, 2008 at 10:46 amTwo thousand years ago, a Roman Senator suggested that all slaves wear white armbands to better identify them.
“No,” said a wiser Senator. “If they see how many of them there are, they may revolt.”
April 24th, 2008 at 10:50 amgood morning, campers
it’s been a nice vacation and relaxing
back to business;
the administration has a proven track record of hiding the costs of its war
funding by emergency supplemental budget bills- keeps the true cost hidden
borrowing the money to finance this illegal enterprise- leaving the cost of repayment to future generations long after this gang has gotten out of Dodge
prohibit photos of the dead and wounded to hide the human cost
the whole philosophy of the Bushies is out of sight/out of mind. Don’t worry, be happy & go shopping
April 24th, 2008 at 10:51 amAll gone for no good reason. A useless, pointless mistake of a war. Where is the outrage?
April 24th, 2008 at 10:53 amI don’t want to “hear the cries of children and the other songs of war”, nor about the housing crisis, and people losing their homes, nor the recession and people losing their jobs, nor about the lies, trampling of the constitution, the enriching of oil companies, Haliburton,the bankrupting of the country with tax breaks for the favored. The detruction of our military, the inhumane way we treat our veterans..
I want to hear about why Obama didn’t wear a flag pin and now he does, what Paris Hilton or Brittany Spears are doing, or who’s going to win American Idol…you know, the really important stuff!
April 24th, 2008 at 10:55 am“public boredom with the war”
What a sad and disgusting commentary about the state of our national psyche.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:56 amI would now use the word, Occupation instead of “War” as in occupation of a sovereign country and our President’s 104 acre embassy in Baghdad should serve as a daily reminder to the Iraqi Citizens and to us that President Bush certainly intends for the United States to occupy Iraq forever, he has no intentions of us ever leaving. Might I remind everyone of his statement made to the Houston Chronicle, on April 9, 1999.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:00 am“Victory means exit strategy, and it’s important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is.” The Bush Administration will continue to lie to the American People, that is certanity.
Well, that’s because it got bad ratings on Fox, Peter C.
Now, if Fox could retool the presentation, ya know, add some busty babes as spokespersons and some cool computer graphics and screaming rock music, that war could be so cool and popular again, just… like… that!
It’s all in the packaging.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:00 amWe spend more on our military than the rest of the world combined yet we refuse to acknowledge the consequences of our wanton use of military power.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:01 amThe American public might be shocked, shocked I say, to learn that heads get blown off, arms and legs get ripped off, soldiers get blinded by shrapnel. We don’t see it on the TeeVee news or documentaries like “The War”. Reality doesn’t exist anymore. This is the brave new world run by warmongers. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:09 amBecause you have an incredible number of fingers and toes?
April 24th, 2008 at 11:10 amI would also like to add that our local newspaper does not even publish the death count of American soldiers in this debacle of a War and Occupation, we will never know the true extent of the horrible maiming of our wounded soldiers because of medical privacy. Ask flight nurses about the trips flying wounded out of Iraq into Germany and the United States. They tell horror stories that will never be printed in any newspaper or released to the American public. The War and Occupation should be on the front of every newspaper.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:10 amI think it does a disservice to those who died for this country to pretend that their deaths never happened. Although some hateful bigots may try to use military funerals to further their right wing agenda, there is no excuse for keeping the public out of military funerals altogether. Surely the military could work with the press to allow a couple pool reporters and photographers to cover the funerals in a manner fitting the dignity of the event.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:12 amHide the deaths, lie about the amount of deaths, lie about the amount of wounded, deny the wounded proper coverage and tell people “keep shopping”. This is just a symptom of the coverups by the Bush administration in every branch of government and the Congress just sits there with their thumbs up their collective asses, while none of the current candidates will even address these issues.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:13 amI am disgusted….
Donkeyd1ck Says:
what is the number 4000 now? how did i know that?
Actually… you’re even wrong here.
It’s 4047 in Iraq, w/ another 494 in Afghanistan, proving once again, you don’t really know, and you don’t care.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:14 amceltic cynic Says:
——————————————————————————–
The American public might be shocked, shocked I say, to learn that heads get blown off, arms and legs get ripped off, soldiers get blinded by shrapnel. We don’t see it on the TeeVee news or documentaries like “The War”. Reality doesn’t exist anymore. This is the brave new world run by warmongers. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
I have a very good friend that is one of the flight nurses out of Iraq into Germany and into the United States. She tells absolute horror stories about what she sees that never will reach press. I cannot even begin to describe what she has told me.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:14 amActually this morning the death count increased to:
4,050 in Iraq of American soldiers killed.
http://icasualties.org/oif/(zrf1rrv1fllgc3j0bbgktgiy)/Default.aspx
The Republic of Stupidity Says:
——————————————————————————–
Donkeyd1ck Says:
what is the number 4000 now? how did i know that?
Actually… you’re even wrong here.
It’s 4047 in Iraq, w/ another 494 in Afghanistan, proving once again, you don’t really know, and you don’t care.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:18 amDid Milbank just figure out this was happening?
April 24th, 2008 at 11:18 amThe Republic of Stupidity Says:
It’s 4047 in Iraq, w/ another 494 in Afghanistan, proving once again, you don’t really know, and you don’t care.
That’s only “battlefield deaths”. Those that survive the trip to the hospital,to die later are not counted in those statistics.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:19 amWayne Says:
That’s only “battlefield deaths”. Those that survive the trip to the hospital,to die later are not counted in those statistics.
__________________
I’ve heard and read this repeatedly, and keep waiting for the media to break this out… nada, zilch, zip. Does anybody have any idea what the “real toll” is?
April 24th, 2008 at 11:24 amre #22 by Nashoba nowa: Why don’t you repeat some of those stories? What are you afraid of? Tell them to newspapers, magazines; the so-called underground or alternative papers would be a good start. Even the Internet!
April 24th, 2008 at 11:25 amThe family of 38-year-old Hall, who leaves behind two young daughters and two stepsons, gave their permission for the media to cover his Arlington burial — a decision many grieving families make so that the nation will learn about their loved ones’ sacrifice. But the military had other ideas, and they arranged the Marine’s burial yesterday so that no sound, and few images, would make it into the public domain.
This funeral should not have been sensored. That burial is evidence that sacrifices are being made everyday. Dana Milbank’s chose of words such as sanitize, is not something that equates with war. Sanitizing is something you do when you clean a bathroom. Wars are messy and lives are lost. There is no sanitizing that. Any attempt by the administration to do so dishonors all the men and women who have died in Iraq.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:36 amDonkeyd1ck Says:
Where did you get those numbers? Did you hack into the pentagon’s computer system? Thanks for breaking the law for us!!
_____________
Actually, you can find them on the Internets… you know, the way you stumbled to this website to embarrass yourself this morning.
Again, you’re not very good at this, are you?
April 24th, 2008 at 11:39 amDonkeyd1ck Says:
Where did you get those numbers? Did you hack into the pentagon’s computer system? Thanks for breaking the law for us!!
Leave it to the trolls to break new records in stupid, daily…..
April 24th, 2008 at 11:49 amEven if the American public are protected from images of flag draped caskets, they should be comforted by the fact that their president is personally mourning every single dead American soldier
/sarcasm
April 24th, 2008 at 11:52 amThe Republic of Stupidity Says:
Wayne Says:
That’s only “battlefield deaths”. Those that survive the trip to the hospital,to die later are not counted in those statistics.
__________________
I’ve heard and read this repeatedly, and keep waiting for the media to break this out… nada, zilch, zip. Does anybody have any idea what the “real toll” is?
One story addressing this issue by the MSM that I know of.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:53 amhttp://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/23/national/main3960678.shtml
Wayne, this is simply outrageous.
One — ONE???? — article???????
And that one gives no estimate as to what the ACTUAL toll is.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:58 amSanitizing. A great description for the deceit practices by this administration. These criminals should be sentenced to lifetime servitude, waiting hand and foot on those maimed by their hubris. And paying their wages earned for those menial tasks to the families of those killed, both here and in Iraq and Afghanistan.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:59 amUncle Ho Says:
the administration has a proven track record of hiding the costs of its war funding by emergency supplemental budget bills
This is one thing I don’t understand. Why are the Democrats still allowing this to happen. Why don’t they tell Bush that Iraq stopped being an “emergency” years ago and if he wants any more money to occupy Iraq, it will have to be on the books where the people can see what affect funding the occupation will truly have on the economy, if we pay for it rather than borrowing for it. That would be a very quick way to end this thing.
April 24th, 2008 at 12:00 pmBilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
This is one thing I don’t understand. Why are the Democrats still allowing this to happen. Why don’t they tell Bush that Iraq stopped being an “emergency” years ago and if he wants any more money to occupy Iraq, it will have to be on the books
May I second this motion?
April 24th, 2008 at 12:15 pmExit Stage Left Says:
——————————————————————————–
Bilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
This is one thing I don’t understand. Why are the Democrats still allowing this to happen. Why don’t they tell Bush that Iraq stopped being an “emergency” years ago and if he wants any more money to occupy Iraq, it will have to be on the books
May I second this motion?
Is there room for a third?
April 24th, 2008 at 12:27 pmFYI to all poster’s, my info is 24 hour’s old and the loss of our own military was listed at 4047…..Upword’s of 100,000 injured…..We really have no proof if the number’s are any where close since we are no longer told the truth by any of the administration or military…..The figure’s for Iraq losses are staggering including children, women and men…Entire famalie’s and tribe’s of people gone forever…Murdered because of our own evil empire and greed of a few seeking to steal the oil under their sand..
This is a legacy.?.Look’s like a genocide to me….For year’s we have condemmed the nazis for their genocide on the jew’s….What has our country become that we ignore this madness and allow those responsible to go free…..Do something to stop this….Impeach, jail and seize all their asset’s now….Hold all involved accountable no matter what party they claim to be……Blessings is not just a word it is what we need to do for our world…
April 24th, 2008 at 12:38 pmI’ll offer to forth that one, and then, someone, PLEASE hand me a fifth…
April 24th, 2008 at 12:41 pmIt is a national embarrassment that the public is far more informed about dancing with the stars and american idol than they are about this god-awful war.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:06 pmI am going to a demonstration tonight – anti-war and how the war has negatively affected the economy; but in Republican country, it is hard to see how anything like this would make an impression.
Antiwar.com is pretty good with stats on the war.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:09 pmMarie; give them hell tonight. :-)
April 24th, 2008 at 2:35 pmFinally, Dana Milbank found a brain.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:43 pmMilbank said that the Pentagon’s policy of keeping the reality of military deaths away from Americans “has contributed to a public boredom with the war.”
April 24th, 2008 at 3:50 pmNo one is bored with the war! We are outraged, shocked, strongly oposed, but not ‘bored’. We are bored with a Democrat Congress that refuses to act on the mandate to hold accountable the Criminals in the WH, Pentagon and CIA, which was given to them last election. Bored with Pelosi for taken impeachment out of the table, when there is plenty of evidence to impeach, idict and imprison WH, CIA and Pentagon officials!
…when there is plenty of evidence to impeach, iNdict and imprison WH, CIA and Pentagon officials!
April 24th, 2008 at 3:51 pmAcctually boring is Hillary Clinton pretending she cares…
April 24th, 2008 at 4:08 pmFor all you do Marie and Uncle Ho, I thank you…Blessings
April 24th, 2008 at 4:12 pm