Let us see the caskets

The Obama Administration is considering lifting the ban on pictures of soldiers’ caskets returning to America from fights abroad. It seems likely that a compromise will emerge; the Pentagon will allow pictures if permission is given by families of returning soldiers. I’m guessing only a small percentage of families will give such permission, but that would be more than what’s available now.

The ban has been in place since the presidency of George H.W. Bush. I wasn’t aware of the following history until a few days ago:

It was, after all, the embarrassment of a president that first led to the photo ban. In 1989, the TV networks showed a split screen of President George H. W. Bush in jocular banter with reporters on one side while on the other, the first American casualties from Panama were returning to Dover. A veteran himself, Mr. Bush was deeply embarrassed at the juxtaposition and asked the networks to warn the White House when they intended to use split screens again. They declined. At the next opportunity, in February 1991, during the first gulf war, the Pentagon banned photos of returning coffins.

So the ban was created to avert presidential embarrassment. Understandable, perhaps, but a really lousy reason to make a rule that infringes on newsgathering.

The reason that’s been offered in recent years is that the Pentagon wants to protect the privacy of the soldiers and their families. That’s better and more understandable … but I’d argue it’s not entirely sufficient reason for the rule. These men — and they’re mostly men — have lived and died serving the public. We do owe them and their families our respect, yes, and that does include a measure of privacy. But Americans need to see a few of those coffins. Wars are waged on our behalf; we need to be clear-eyed about the costs.