Blame the military, not the media
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In wake of new Afghanistan corpse photo scandal, be sure to put responsibility where it belongs
One of the infamous Abu Ghraib prison photos from Iraq in 2004.
21 April 2012
After Abu Ghraib and a steady drip of other outrages, the latest photo scandal with U.S. troops is upon us: A soldier gave the L.A. Times photos of troops with Taliban corpses and body parts, and the newspaper published them — despite direct pleas from the Defense Department that doing so would do more harm than good.
As someone who hears a lot of chatter in the military, I’ve caught wind of lots of complaints essentially trying to blame the media for their decision, and for whatever fallout results.
I’ve spent about three years with combat troops at war and care deeply about them. But let’s be clear. The reality is that in most cases, the bad deeds are done by service members, and captured on camera by their buddies.
Then they distribute the images, often via social media like YouTube, or directly to media such as the Los Angeles Times.
There is no chicken-egg argument here.
The military chicken pops out a bad egg, then hatches that egg and parades the little monster to the press, who then says, “Look at the monster that the military hatched!”
And then we say, “Bad, bad media for creating a monster!”
Incorrect. The media didn’t make the monster. The media just made the monster famous.
Let’s look at three cases:
Abu Ghraib:
1. Military did the deeds
2. Military made the images
3. Military released the images
4. Media made them famous
Marines urinating on Taliban:
1. Military did the deeds
2. Military made the images
3. Military released the images
4. Media made them famous
Soldiers posing with dead Taliban:
1. Military did the deeds
2. Military made the images
3. Military released the images
4. Media made them famous
This is not complicated. We need not deflect responsibility from where it belongs. Our soldiers are grown men and women and should be accountable for their actions.
Whining about media overreach is starting to claw on peoples’ ears. People may not say that they are sick of it because they prefer not to say something “anti-military.” But it’s becoming pretty damn clear who is causing these monsters to hatch. It’s the military.
Here’s the solution:
1. Don’t do the deed.
2. Nothing follows.
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Comments
Thus military members did the deeds, military members made the images, and military members made the images public. The military as an organization was left with the task of bringing them to account for their actions under the military justice system for clear violations of conduct. In some cases, those investigations were ongoing even as the stories hit the press.
You have always supported our troops, and have been careful to tell the truth even when it hurt. I respect you for that, and will continue to to do so. Perhaps I am nit picking here, but I do wish to draw a distinction between those soldiers and the institution as a whole which those individuals so badly misrepresented.
Best wishes.
Two wrongs don't make it "OK" - Freedom of the press and Freedom of Speech often get confused with the right to do things simply because "I have that right." - NOT, what would be the best thing to do.
The laws of war allow us to wage very, let's say, unlimited war against enemy forces. If they choose to hide behind skirts or mosque walls, or in populated neighborhoods then the blood is all on their hands ONLY!!.
We can take out a building downtown without destroying the whole block. The acceptable collateral damage will be very limited to the enemies firing position.
ALL OF THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE IS ON THEIR COWARDLY HANDS!
IF ENEMY FIRE COMES FROM AN APARTMENT HOUSE, A SCHOOL, A HOSPITAL OR A MOSQUE....CALL IN AN AIR STRIKE OR ARTY ON IT. MAYBE THE LOCAL POPULACE , IF THEY ARE INNOCENT, WILL GET TIRED OF THE SCUM ENDANGERING THEIR LIVES.
This isn't the first time civilians have squealed and stand their wringing their hands. Women in Viet Nam posed as being pregnant while blowing our men up!
THIS PC Crap has to stop!
Our people go to the Middle East to "fight FOR them"... then have to be told not to Pee pee towards Mecca. The women in the Military have to wear a damn bag on their heads when off base.
They want the "crosses" taken down from the building where OUR PEOPLE go in to feel peace and pray.
BRING THEM HOME...
Then when the squeal about needing OUR help... sign a document in front of camera(s)they WILL allow our Military fight TO WIN!
Otherwise, stfu and do it yourself!
Now to the meat
.
ABU GRAIB......SO WHAT?
MARINES PISSING ON DEAD ENEMY.........S O WHAT?
POSING WITH DEAD ENEMY......SO WHAT?
IF...........the military has ANY objection to any of the above it should be and probably is nothing but a slap on the wrist for bad judgement.
ANYTHING ESLE WOULD BE WAY OVER THE TOP AND DEMORALIZING TO OUR TROOPS....THERE MIGHT BE SOME LIMITS TO BEHAVIOR, BUT NONE WERE REACHED HERE EXCEPT BY OUR LEADERS" LIKE TED KENNEDY AND HIS BUDDY REP. JOHN MURTHA FROM PA. DISGUSTING DRIVLE FROM THEM!
They led the PC attack/onslaugh t against our military, not the participants. They wanted to HURT the military and America in our enemy's eyes ONLY!!
THEY ARE NOT CRIMINAL ACTS, BUT ACTS OF PEOPLE NOT USING GOOD JUDGEMENT IN AN EMOTIONAL SITUATION.
LET'S GET REAL FOLKS.......... .........THE PEOPLE WE FIGHT OVER THERE ARE TRULY MONSTROUS SAVAGES, HEARTLESS AND SOULLESS. NOT OUR GUYS
FORTY YEARS OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS OPPRESSING US HAS TAKEN ITS TOLL.
WE'RE THE GOOD GUYS AND IT SHOWS EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR.
MY MILITARY, RIGHT OR WRONG AND WE ARE SELDOM WRONG
IF OUR POLITICAL AND SOME OF OUR MILITARY LEADERS WERE ONLY NEAR AS PERFECT AS OUR TROOPS THIS WAR WOULD BE OVER AND OUR ENEMIES WOULD NOT TREAD ON US ANYMORE!!!
Blame the media.
To people who thought and believed he or she is on the civilized side, should read this again and again.
If in the process the media can make the story even more sensational in order to get more "eyeballs" then they will go to any lengths these days to get one up on their competition
It does matter who gets hurt, who is embarrassed, or who is ruined socially and financially
We have a great sickness in our country and the world called Mega-Glomerate MainStream Media. Wherein decency, korrect thinking, and behavior is determined and proscribed by these MGMSM thugs
This kind of black journalism really took off under William Ranolph Hurst and has not diminished, if anything it has become a beast of insatible appetitie always looking for the next dead burning body or bodies
That said Michael is right about the stupidity of the folks involved in these military scandals, asinie nincompoops all
Maybe the war would be won a lot faster if the "stupid politicians" were kept out of it. The backside would be that those stupid people have been democratically elected, and have thus been entrusted with the job of doing the opposite of keeping out of wars. If they had kept out, things would have looked a lot like a military junta/dictators hip, because it's only there that the military is superior to politicians, which they would be if politians would be kept out of wars.
You are right, of course, but there are two points I want to mention.One, the use of 'military' can mean the Defense Department leaked these photos, or one soldier.Given the attitude and policies of the Defense Department, Congress, Obama, it is not out of the question someone in one of these departments leaked them.Secondly,e ven if someone affiliated with the Military sends it to the Media, the editors and publishers still can use judgment as to whether, or not, to publish them.these days with high tech availabilities and capabilities one can only hope the media thoroughly checks how these photos were made and edited and photo-shopped.I n the end, it is plain stupid to take these photos in the first place.We no longer see what the enemy is doing, which is far, far worse.What is amazing is the silence the vets and active troops maintain about the true barbarism of our enemies. It is nothing the Western imagination could conceive of without being a witness, or having a trusted source. Thank you, for releasing this information.I always look forward to your reports.
A quick google image search will render hundreds of photos of American soldiers posing with dead enemies from every war we have fought. The Greatest Generation took more than their share of them.
Two aspects of trophy-kill images from war are new:
Their public availability, and our naieve belief that we are better than that. War is war is war is evil is horrible is obscene. We cannot ask our wonderful servicemen to wade into that reality and not become stained by it. We shouldn't condone or promote it, but we should expect it.
I think the more important question to ask is why are we at war in Afghanistan. What is the mission?
Two aspects of trophy-kill images from war are new:
Their public availability, and our naieve belief that we are better than that. /quote]
Well said. I used to know a former Marine who'd served in Vietnam. One day he came up to me, wide-eyed & shaking -- he'd stopped by his house just in time to find some family members digging into an old box of photos they'd found buried in the back of his closet. He'd grabbed the box of photos and left the house without a word. As he put it, when you have a camera you start taking pictures of everything and you get so used to seeing stuff like that you take pictures of it too -- but he knew his family would never understand that, which is why he'd grabbed the box of photos and left his house without a word.
In "With the Old Breed" E.B. Sledge wrote about the WWII American soldiers in the Pacific looking for trophies after a battle and the difference between soldiers who took the prayer flags (can't remember if that is the right name for them) from inside the helmets of deceased Japanese soldiers and the soldiers who collected gold teeth from deceased Japanese soldiers. (He almost started collecting gold teeth himself, until a corpsman talked him out of it, and later in the book he said he was devoutly grateful to that corpsman.) If camera technology had been 30 years more advanced in that war, likely he would have been writing about stupid pictures taken by American soldiers too.
So, it *is* simplest to avoid doing the deed to start with. But if someone is going to be stupid, don't post a digital copy of the picture on a public or semi-public forum.
There are so many people who have gotten into trouble with friends, family, police, spouses, school, and employers because of dumb pictures that should never have been taken being posted in places they never should have been posted, it's amazing so much stuff still gets posted.
Don’t commit crimes against humanity!!
Those darned Taliban. They shouldn't commit crimes against humanity.
By contrast, all suicide bombers who target civilians should be rigorously pigged.
Our hand wringing weakness over an inappropriate action of a few is disgusting!
during the days of Rome, they kept drawn art of battles won.
Sorry, folks...war is hell; and it LOOKS like hell.
Completely backwards. Sorry Michael. I am a long time supporter.
The pictures are two years old. Two years. Why trotted out now? That is the question that needs answering.
I have my own theories and they are not complementary to either the DoD nor the MSM nor The Regime.
What amazes me is that people keep doing this and taking pictures of it, despite being the age group in society most aware of how extremely easy it is to spread digital photographs around. Someone just borrowing you camera can easily distribute every single picture you've ever taken to thousands of people before you've even finished your lunch.
Something tells me it isn't the Russian media you'd be pissed at...
Our gret leader Nobel Peace Prize Winner President Obama will continue the wars without end.
Should he get a second term he will bring a communist revolution to a neighborhood near you.
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Right on Michael - WRITE ON!
Respectfully, Yoda / US Air Force, US Army Veteran.
Newspapers/magazines/online sites need to consider all aspects of the impact before publishing the news.
Knowingly publishing a story or photos that will put the lives of others [our military in this case] in danger should be reason enough to "not" publish said story or photo.
If said soldiers did something wrong that does not then give the media permission to also do something wrong!
So the dog doesn't fit, it was national policy, not just bad soldiers being bad. But at least we can all feel better knowing that we quit agressive interrogation at the cost of 1000's of service members lives...always a tradeoff for feeling good about ourselves.
Also, as the North Vietnamese showed us when they decorated their officer at Time Magazine for photo selection to go with Time's articles on Vietnam, the choice of the image can be important. one can be honest without, as they say across the pond, "sexing it up". Criticising the media for that is anything but beyond the Pale.