Gates: AP decision 'appalling' (AP publishes photos of dead soldier regardless of parents wishes)

Politico ^ | 9/4/2009 | Mike Allen

[Tulsa Ramjet]

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is objecting “in the strongest terms” to an Associated Press decision to transmit a photograph showing a mortally wounded 21-year-old Marine in his final moments of life, calling the decision “appalling” and a breach of “common decency.”

The AP reported that the Marine’s father had asked – in an interview and in a follow-up phone call — that the image, taken by an embedded photographer, not be published.

Gates: “I cannot imagine the pain and suffering Lance Corporal Bernard’s death has caused his family. Why your organization would purposefully defy the family’s wishes knowing full well that it will lead to yet more anguish is beyond me. Your lack of compassion and common sense in choosing to put this image of their maimed and stricken child on the front page of multiple American newspapers is appalling. The issue here is not law, policy or constitutional right – but judgment and common decency.”

[Tulsa Ramjet]

Today's newspapers are evil.

Thomas Curley is AP’s president and chief executive officer. contact at info@ap.org

[Roses0508]

I saw this on Drudge and still haven’t quit shaking. I’ve drafted something to AP three times and still having a hard time with “reasonable and articulate expression of my anger and disgust”. I keep straying into a complete rant.

[paul51]

taken by an embedded photographer

Time to rethink this policy. All the indignation and emails isn't going to change a thing after the fact. Kick them off the battlefield.

[paul51]

taken by an embedded photographer

Time to rethink this policy. All the indignation and emails isn't going to change a thing after the fact. Kick them off the battlefield.

[missycocopuffs]

From the article: The AP reported in a story that it decided to make the image public anyway because it “conveys the grimness of war and the sacrifice of young men and women fighting it.”

No, publishing it demonstrates the complete and utter lack of respect for the soldier and his family’s wishes. Appalling indeed!

[70th Division]

The marines should have used his camera for target practice and maybe given him a few rifle butts.

[LibLieSlayer]

AP=al qaeda press.

LLS

[Tulsa Ramjet]

We are in a battle for our country’s soul. Its dying by a thousand slices.

[TChris]

...a breach of “common decency.”

Unfortunately, decency is no longer common.

[TChris]

...a breach of “common decency.”

Unfortunately, decency is no longer common.

[jwalsh07]

Gates opened the door for this kind of bs when he supported Obama allowing reporters access to returning KIA.

As for the AP, they suck. Nothing new there.

[TChris]

Sorry for the dupe... :-/

[muawiyah]

How about a picture of the last moments of life of a young AP reporter, or an older AP reporter, or an AP manager or AP editor.

Such things are, of course, possible.

No doubt they'd think it tasteless to do, and they'd certainly be aghast at the idea that such a thing had been arranged for.

Barring that, maybe someone could go dig up an already dead AP staffer's grave and take some pictures. Publish 'em on the net. Maybe prop up the corpse for a better display.

It's like thinking of things that can be done with Westboro Church's ghoul team.

[pennboricua]

In the manner the current POS President is fighting the war, tying the hands of our Military behind its back, I am about to join Cindy Sheehan.

Our warriors need a better fighting chance than the one they are currently subjected to, Viet Nam all over again.

Either fight a war to win or not at all, our soldiers deserve better, our CIA deserves better, our nation deserves better.

[70th Division]

Better yet. Lets publish the douche bag that produced the photo. Ya, lets plaster it all over the nation. The traiter. The guy who is just in it for the money. Ya, where is his picture? I want a hundred. What is his name? Where does he live? Where is he now?

[BigBobber]

Aren’t these the same people who won’t publish images of the victims of 9/11 anymore?

How come we can see images of dying U.S. marines but not Obama eating a cheeseburger or having a smoke?

[RJS1950]

While this is absolutely tasteless and cruel what makes the administration think it should be able to sway their AP apparatchik not to publish the photos. They slammed the Bush administration for trying to influence the publishing of questionable material from the war. Now that it makes them look bad they have changed their tune; not wanting the photo to be published has nothing to do with what is right.

[muawiyah]

Does he have loved ones ~ just in case someone is very, very, very angry!

I mean, just what is it going to take to instruct AP in what is tolerable behavior.

[SueRae]

You said it. I agree. Common sense is no longer common, either.

Appalling.

[ontap]

I’m finding freedom of the press to be less and less important as time passes. We do not have a legitimate press any more, we have a propaganda machine for the democratic national committee.

[70th Division]

My opinion would be a rifle butt from a Marine. And a smashed camera. It is still illegal to shoot the bastard.

[RummyChick]

When I saw the picture I thought of his son’s honor....I disagree with his father that it was disrespectful to his memory because it showed his HONOR and his sacrifice and his courage..... BUT IT SHOULD BE THE FAMILY’S DECISION.

I spit on AP.

I usually concentrate my care packages to Afghanistan..even though there is a theft problem..because it is such a hell hole. Every time I box one up I hope it puts a smile on someone’s face and gives them just a moment...before they face the daunting task.

Here is a good article
http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/ghosts-on-the-front/

[A.A. Cunningham]

(AP publishes photos of dead soldier(sic) regardless of parents wishes)

Lance Corporal Bernard was a Marine not a soldier. You need to have your mistake corrected.

[coconut47]

These people that decide to publish these photos are sick and think of nobody else but their own stupid selves.
They sure don’t think of the families. Get these embeds out. Or better yet make them go to the front lines.

[EDINVA]

un-embed the friggin photogs/reporters for AP. It was an editorial/corporate decision, and poor editorial/corporate decisions should have consequences.

[muawiyah]

Associated Press television producer Myles Tierney was killed in Sierra Leone. I looked through all the pictures I could find on the net and there was nothing about his body or anything ~ not even stretched out and dressed for burial or cremation.

AP's own standard for it's own people (if we can call them that) is that they don't allow anyone to display their dead or their near dead, 'cause if they did they'd have provided the pictures.

There were some other AP reporters, et al, killed in the last decade and they don't show them.

There's a surprisingly high death rate in AP ~ you'd think they'd avoid doing to others what they obviously don't allow others to do to them.

Guess that's a problem with being a friend of the commies in Africa, the terrorists in the Middle East, the Taliban, and every other sort of scumbag on earth.

[missycocopuffs]

Sorry, I am guilty of the same mistake.

[thesearethetimes...]

This is mine. Short, and to the point.

“”Mr. Curley, and company,
Just exactly who do you all think you are? Your freedom of the press has been, and continues to be paid for by fighting men and women like Lance Corporal Bernard, and you have the audacity to disregard the wishes of this young man’s family?! It is my deepest hope that our military commanders, “after a period of reflection”, “reconsider” their decision to ALLOW embedded reporters and camera people, and ever so politely, tell you all to take a hike.
“We feel it is our journalistic duty to show the reality of the war there, however unpleasant and brutal that sometimes is,’ said Santiago Lyon, the director of photography for AP.” Right. And I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. Be aware, the American people are on to you all, and understand quite well that your only “duty”, is to serve yourselves.

May God have mercy upon your souls, because we will afford you none.””

Tatt

[Wild Irish Rogue]

The AP should have respected the wishes of the parents and the Sec of Defense. Period.
OTOH , the AP is at least, unlike the current CinC, trying to focus on what is happening in Afghanistan and the sacrifices being made there daily by our soldiers.

” It also includes an interview with his father, an ex-Marine, who three weeks earlier had written letters complaining that the military’s rules of engagement are exposing the troops in Afghanistan to undue risk.”

“The U.S. patrol had a tip that Taliban fighters were lying in ambush in a pomegranate grove, and a Marine trained his weapon on the trees. Seconds later, a salvo of gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades poured out, and a grenade hit Lance Cpl. Joshua ‘Bernie’ Bernard.”

Maybe the AP can answer this question.
Due to Barry’s Afghanistan ROEs-How many of these Taliban were allowed to escape unharmed when they were previously engaged by our military ?
If they are around civilians or hiding in Afghan homes,
Barry and General McChrystal and Lt General Gilmary Hostage have all given the Taliban
unlimited “ get out of jail free “ cards.
Which they later cash in at the expense of US troops.
Watch-Barry will issue some statement regretting the deaths of Afghanis stealing fuel from the stolen oil tankers.
But, he will be silent, as usual,
when another member of the US military is killed trying to fight a war
under his “ Afghan civilians always trump the lives of US soldiers “ ROEs.

[thesearethetimes...]

“”How come we can see images of dying U.S. marines but not Obama eating a cheeseburger or having a smoke?””

And for that matter, how is it that we NEVER see photographs of American soldiers doing GOOD things?!

GAH!

I am so tired of the manipulation that is paraded around as Freedom of the Press. It is not freedom of the press when they only publish what they want us to see!!

Tatt

[BallyBill]

I've become so desensitized after the media handling of the “Bush Regimes Evil Wars” and their searching for anything negative, that this only shocks me that they did this under 0bama.

[70th Division]

WHAT A GREAT POST! THANKS. THE SCUM BAGS.

[CharlesWayneCT]

NOtice it was Gates complaining, NOT Obama. So we can’t yet say the administration is trying to stop this. Just that Gates, in one of his saner moments, is still trying to look after our troops, in spite of the administration.

[Naplm]

As a father of a fallen Marine and my youngest Marine son readying for deployment to Afghanistan, I am horrified at what the parents must be feeling. The parents will suffer for years and this will add to it. Using the young Marine as a political prop for their agenda is disgraceful. I hope the backlash it tremendous!!

[muawiyah]

Although modern usage is to refer to Marines as marines and members of the Army as soldiers, our Founding Fathers referred to the Marines as Marine Infantry.

They knew.

[Dante3]

What perverts.

[too_cool_for_skool]

Despite all the outrage surrounding the published pictures, the article itself is pretty good story. I kind of wish we’d see more embedded reporting from the front lines, ala Ernie Pyle.

[nikos1121]

First off, why did his fellow Marines let the embedded photographer to photograph their comrad and secondly why did they let him post the photo?

I doubt that the slug is still in Afghan, and if so then I think it’s time for a blanket party.

[nikos1121]

Let’s see if Obama steps in and does the right thing, but has the photograph already been published?

[raybbr]

I am a bit confused. How does a "marine" NOT fit in this definition?

sol⋅dier

  /ˈsoʊldʒər/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [sohl-jer] Show IPA

Use soldier in a Sentence

See web results for soldier

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–noun

1.	a person who serves in an army; a person engaged in military service.

2.	an enlisted man or woman, as distinguished from a commissioned officer: the soldiers' mess and the officers' mess.

3.	a person of military skill or experience: George Washington was a great soldier.

4.	a person who contends or serves in any cause: a soldier of the Lord.

[muawiyah]

Been following up on that. Found the First Amendment Center. They seem to be pretty tied up with AP, particularly when it has something to do with the propaganda.

They had a puke named Gene Policinski at gpolicinski@fac.org with this phone number 615/727-1600. He's the press contact person.

Figured I might as well consult with him so I sent him this question:

" Just now got on top of the dead soldier picture issue. So I went back in time to see if AP has published or released for publication any of their pictures of their own dead employees.

Searched the net high and low and all I got were LIVE PEOPLE like Mr. Tierney.

Frankly, no one believes AP doesn't have any dead employee shots.

Certainly they could arrange with some of their friends in Hamas or the Taliban to get some dead employees to take pictures of

Can you please check into this and provide me with several dozen clear identifying shots of dead or nearly dead AP employees.

I can guarantee you I will make sure they get widespread coverage on the internet.

Oh, yeah, and the names, addresses, and phone numbers of their dependents. I'll spread that info as well.

It's only fair eh!"

I am not going to hold my breath waiting on those pictures but should they come I am certain I can count on everyone here to help me spread them around!

[nikos1121]

This is Viet Nam deja vu. I remember this well. The US gov’t wouldn’t let our soldiers fight the war to win.

LBJ we know had looked at this as a war of attrition, and he was prepared to bring up another 500,000 troops if he had stayed in office.

Funny how when Nixon started bombing they came to the table to bargain.

I say, if you’re not going to committ our people to win, get the phuc* out.

[nikos1121]

This is Viet Nam deja vu. I remember this well. The US gov’t wouldn’t let our soldiers fight the war to win.

LBJ we know had looked at this as a war of attrition, and he was prepared to bring up another 500,000 troops if he had stayed in office.

Funny how when Nixon started bombing they came to the table to bargain.

I say, if you’re not going to committ our people to win, get the phuc* out.

[Always Independent]

Better that they kick out the embedded photog. Tell them they forfieted there priviledge to be there. The marines that the photog are embedded with could also tell them when the shooting starts that they are on their own.

[jen0517]

I think the National Enquirer has more decency than the AP! They should have followed the family’s wishes. My thoughts and prayers go to the family.

[sandboxshooter]

We do have our “Ernie Pyle”

http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/

Michael Yon is doing an awesome job covering Iraq and Afghanistan by being there....

[missycocopuffs]

Thanks, I’m always trying to learn :-)

[muawiyah]

Just occurred to me CNN did this with the broadcast tower in Belgrade during the Clinton War.

They were notified that they should get their people out of that tower because it would be bombed that evening. CNN did so, but they didn't tell anyone else in the tower that it would be bombed.

Real nice of them to not reveal a military secret. At the same time the tower had plenty of innocent civilians who the CNN people knew personally, or saw frequently.

Subsequently CNN has told little stories like "no civilians in there", and so forth ~ with no sources.

Seems to me CNN is pretty cold hearted. So is AP. Gee whiz, so am I. Hoping we get full delivery of a batch of pictures of dead AP people soon. Need to get them distributed so the world can see what happens to cruel and inhuman "newsies".

[Soothesayer9]

And if said Marine were to do such a thing on his own authority, he would find himself court-marshaled.

Marines lead, but also know how to follow orders.

[MinorityRepublican]

LBJ we know had looked at this as a war of attrition, and he was prepared to bring up another 500,000 troops if he had stayed in office.

Source please?