Pentagon Limits Funeral Coverage Arlington to Keep Reporters Away

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38338-2003Nov13.html

The Army tightened rules yesterday on press coverage of funerals at Arlington National Cemetery, directing that reporters be kept far enough away from the graveside that they would likely be unable to hear a chaplain's eulogy.

Reporters will be restricted to a roped-in "bullpen" that is generally far enough away that words spoken at graveside cannot be heard, officials said.

Jack Metzler Jr., the superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery, said the cemetery will be following rules that were already in the books but had not been strictly observed in recent years. "We're just enforcing what was already in place," he said.

The order to enforce the restriction came from Army officials at the Pentagon, Metzler said. He said the order came in response to a complaint, but he declined to provide details.

than the roped off area. Ceremonies should be for the families

However, it is not out of respect to the families that the decision was made. But I guess the ends justify the means in this case.

Just when I was wondering what was coming next.

only look out at the country we once wandered freely.

anything coming out of the bushistas is cooked up by Cheney. I hope you were able to watch a great program that tells us who is really running our country and responsible for the Iraq war. Cheney, a heartless little man.

...but there is no way that I believe that restricting the press to remote areas is in any stretch of the imagination something done out of respect for the bereaved. Furthermore, I am surprised to read DUers buying into it.

If it were my loved one, I would want the world to see. As it is, they get no coverage of their caskets returning to Dover, no attendance by Bush or Cheney, and now, no press allowed to let the American and world public get a glimpse of what is really happening -- our young people are getting slaughtered for the Bush/Cheney/PNAC agenda.

No wonder they don't want any of us to see or hear.

But don't attribute it to consideration for the bereaved.

s_m

P.S. Thanks for the reminder to tape the Nightline program, readmylips!

media there hovering over the shoulders of my family and friends. There is a time and place, and that just isn't it. IMO

I'm not saying it's not a legitimate sentiment. But it sure feeds into the Rove/Cheney plan.

s_m

Doing this for the families,they are doing it for their own benefit.They want to hide the bodies from the public.

If you happen to welcome (however reluctantly) the media taking note of your lost loved one, and wish to share the needless tragedy with those of us who haven't been in that situation but need to understand it, you're out of luck.

This is the NO CHOICE administration, all the way around.

I agree, it should be up to the families. But it's not. Your point is excellent and should be expressed in letters to the editor and to our representatives.

s_m

One of Rose's best shows. Rieff rips Ajami a new one.

http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/gallagher140.html

In a masterful analysis in the Nov. 2 "New York Times Magazine," David Rieff looks at how the Bush administration's pre-war planners bungled post-war Iraq. The article is entitled "Who Botched the Occupation?" The short answer is Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, all the arrogant neocon warmongers, and most of all George W. Bush for listening to those crazies.

They bought the lies and deceptions of Iraqi exile and professional fraud Ahmad Chalabi, totally rejected the State Department's findings in the Future of Iraq Project, did little planning, and did it too late, committed too few troops, neglected humanitarian need and ignored the Shiites.

Every day American men and women, along with Iraqis, suffer because of that catastrophic failure. Where is the accountability for such colossal mismanagement?

Some families, I am sure, would prefer as much privacy as possible.

Other families might prefer to have the press there, having lost their loved one, they might believe that publicizing the casualties would erode support for the Crusade.

Personally, I don't think it would, that was the essence of the infamous "Starpass post," but apparently there are some in Washington who believe it, hence the cover ban on all aspects of casualties.