Neko

Friday, April 23, 2004

Flag Draped Coffins: what are they trying to hide?

One photograph of flag draped coffins cost one woman her job.

The Pentagon is defending their policy of not showing pictures of soldiers coffins. They say it's out of respect for the families of the deceased. I say BS! If it were MY child in one of those coffins, I'd not only want to see it, but I want to be there when it's taken off the plane. As a parent, I think I should have that right. It's called closure. It would help me to begin the grieving process.

I wanted to include the picuture, but apparently, it's been taken off the net.

The woman who took the picture, Tami Silicio, found the scene of the flag draped coffins moving. She wanted to share it with someone. It ultimately ended up being published in the Seattle Times, and Ms. Silicio lost her job because of it.

What is our government trying to hide? That people are being killed in Iraq? Hundreds of people are dying there, both men and women, and I truly think we deserve to see at least part of their final journey home.

I understand that makes some people uncomfortable. That's fine. I don't see it that way. I don't see it as a protest of the war. I don't see it as a political propaganda tool. I see it for what it is: a soldier's last journey home. Nothing more, nothing less.

My eighteen year old son signed up for the Selective Service yesterday. If (God forbid) he were to be sent to Iraq and lose his life, I'd want to see his coffin! I'd want the whole world to see it. I'd want to be at the airport when it's taken off the plane! As I said above, it would help me with the grieving process.

This whole war is making me mad. Why all the secrecy? Why are we even there? What about Bin Laden? Is getting him still a priority? Is this a play so that Bush can keep his job as the "war president"? The 1991 Gulf War lasted something like three months. This one has been going strong for over a year with no end in sight. Will the child I had in 1991 be fighting this war in five years? I'm not ready to go there quite yet, if ever.

Comments are welcome.

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