Reacting to the Associated Press's decision to publish -- against a grieving father's wishes -- a photo of a mortally-wounded Marine, MRC President and NewsBusters Publisher Brent Bozell blasted the news wire in a statement today:
The Associated Press should be ashamed for even thinking something as preposterous as this. This photo will do nothing but cause great sorrow for the family of a hero. As the father of a Marine, I cannot imagine the pain they will endure because of its publication and the damage it will cause in their grief.
Way to go, AP. On the eve of the federal holiday dedicated to the American worker, you are causing pain for the family of a hero that has given the ultimate sacrifice of his life in labor for his country.
The AP defended its decision by insisting the decision came "after a period of reflection" and was done to convey "the grimness of war and the sacrifice of young men and women fighting it."
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has also slammed the AP's decision, reports Mike Allen of The Politico:
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father had asked – in an interview and in a follow-up phone call — that the image, taken by an embedded photographer, not be published.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
In other words...
September 4, 2009 - 12:02 ET by c5thenThe AP thought long and hard about it and decided that the family be damned.
Perhaps the Pentagon ought to think long and hard and decide that a so-called news organization like the AP should no longer be credentialed?
Throw 'da bums out!!!
no incumbent re-elected, with very few exceptions!
www.loyaltoliberty.com
Oh, well, OK then!
September 4, 2009 - 13:03 ET by motherbeltThe AP thought long and hard about it and decided that the family be damned.
As long as they thought long and hard about it first! And you have to admit, they had good intentions: to show "the grimness of war and the sacrifice of young men and women fighting it."
So can we next expect the AP to show us the grimness of abortion?
Don't they know their guy won?
September 4, 2009 - 12:07 ET by Red JeepDon't they know Bush is no longer President? What's the matter with them?
Bush not the President??
September 4, 2009 - 12:07 ET by Sergeant ROCKWhen did that happen?
"I ask, Sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
George Mason
And Cheney is no longer Darth Vader!
September 4, 2009 - 13:09 ET by MightyMouth"The bureaucracy is growing to meet the needs of the growing bureaucracy"
I wonder just ...
September 4, 2009 - 12:07 ET by SentryDanI wonder just what kind of reaction these people would have if it had been one of their children who had been fatally injured, say with their legs cutoff, the parent there in all their anguish and it was plastered all over the place?
I'm betting there would be threats of death and lawsuits all over the place. These cretins live by a double standard. I pray that they don't ever have to go through that experience.
Remember folks, Freedom isn't Free. It was bought with the blood and sacrifice of the men and women who are serving and who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
For those who fought for it, Freedom has a flavor that the protected will never know.
Also remember folks, that the way to SUPPORT THE TROOPS is to support their mission. Anyone who says that they support the troops but don't support their mission is lying about supporting the troops. And if you want to know, yes I do have a dog in the fight, he is a United States Marine.
With all due respect Dan, I
September 4, 2009 - 12:23 ET by SickofLibsWith all due respect Dan, I pray whoever finally signed off on this DOES have to go through a similar experience.
Call me un-Christian, I don't care, but I can no longer apply Christian values to rat-bastards like the AP.
Hey Sick, what I would like to see ...
September 4, 2009 - 12:51 ET by SentryDanHey Sick, what I would like to see is these cretins stuck out in the middle of a firefight in the middle of the HQ section and the company gunny telling his troops to prepare to defend themselves, then turn to the reporters and say you a$$holes are on your own, hope you have a weapon.
It is a very unfortunate thing that we have to defend the rights of slugs like those at the AP. But as a military person, that is what we are sworn to do.
I don't like any news organization that exploits the sacrifices on by brothers and sisters in arms. I know personally the kind of hate these liberal SOBs can create. They are starting to revert back to the practice used during Vietnam. It won't be long before the liberals start calling our military "Baby killers". IMO
Remember folks, Freedom isn't Free. It was bought with the blood and sacrifice of the men and women who are serving and who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
For those who fought for it, Freedom has a flavor that the protected will never know.
Also remember folks, that the way to SUPPORT THE TROOPS is to support their mission. Anyone who says that they support the troops but don't support their mission is lying about supporting the troops. And if you want to know, yes I do have a dog in the fight, he is a United States Marine.
I hear ya, Dan
September 4, 2009 - 13:27 ET by SickofLibsThe "embeds" have been kept out of harm's way, as somehow they are never among the casualties we see reported.
Hey Dan,
September 4, 2009 - 15:13 ET by UpNorthmy son is the company gunny for Weapons Co. 2/3. That's the same battalion that LCpl Bernard was in. He was in Golf Co. The Marines in that battalion are pissed, rightly so. Some more than others. I would hope that the Battalion C.O. would un-embed that dizzy bitch who took that photo. She had the gall to say, "To ignore a moment like that simply ... would have been wrong. I was
recording his impending death, just as I had recorded his life moments before
walking the point in the bazaar. Death is a part of life and most
certainly a part of war. Isn't that why we're here? To document for now and for
history the events of this war?"
Apparently, easing the pain of LCpl Bernard's parents is secondary to the thought of a Pulitzer for this POS photog.
Amen.....
September 4, 2009 - 15:38 ET by pantrymanand Amen.
When ya got the suckers down, drill 'em....
A key item is the story of
September 4, 2009 - 20:24 ET by BDA key item is the story of Daniel Pearl who was beheaded by Khalid Sheihk Mohammad. Video of Pearls Beheading was made available via the internet, but you will note the press did not lead with it to the extent they seem happy to display US military casualties. Pearls grisly execution was remarked upon, but not displayed in any graphic form.
Back in the 1980's I watched as members of the press staked out the funerals of military members killed in various actions around the world. The press did not have any qualms of using these events to ask wha they viewed as the seminal question of "Why did the evil US leadership ask these poor people to die."
You will note that the Pearl's French wife was not treated similarly.
The Associated Press is no
September 4, 2009 - 12:22 ET by d1carterThe Associated Press is no longer a news organization, they are a propaganda organization. They probably spent all of five minutes thinking about this before deciding that this indeed fit their narrative.
Sue the Editorial Staff
September 4, 2009 - 12:31 ET by pickerseniorThe editorial staff who made this decision should be sued out of the business by the Parents of this Marine.
They should be sued personnaly by enough to ensure that they will never write for a news organization in their lifetimes, and it should be public.
It's one thing to be anti-war, but it's another to publish snuff pictures like this and commit treason to this country!
Is anyone here surprised at this?
September 4, 2009 - 12:53 ET by Army BratWhat else would a bunch of treasonous, treacherous sacks o' crap that brought us Obama do? Why, the wrong thing of course. No brainer. Do the right thing or ignore the wishes of grieving family members and thereby increase their pain? Ignore their wishes of course...and as a bonus they get to slap a whole raft of Americans right in the face.
islam is a lie and Truth is killing it.
Army Brat...you have to
September 4, 2009 - 13:11 ET by motherbeltArmy Brat...you have to understand that the editors at AP are the best judges of when the suffering of families should be ignored, because they are the only ones who are fit to decide what is the "greater good".....
\sarc
As for the rule regarding journalists in the war zone, it states that:
The rule regarding coverage of "wounded, injured, and ill personnel"
states that the "governing concerns" are "patient welfare, patient
privacy and next of kin/family considerations."
AP reporters should be booted out and forbidden any more embedding.
this is appalling
September 4, 2009 - 13:22 ET by jezebelleI'm not a litigious person but I hope that family sues the SH*T out of the AP and put it out of business.
They should be ashamed!
The Army should cancel
September 4, 2009 - 14:05 ET by katiejanethe credentials of that photographer or at least not allow him/her to be embedded with a unit. The family's wishes should have trumped the AP's ideological bent.
DEATH PICTURE
September 4, 2009 - 14:22 ET by JOGGRRNOThttp://www.ap.org/pages/about/board.html The preceding is a list of the AP's Board of Directors, contact info is info@ap.org address: AP Headquarters 450 W. 33rd St./New York,N.Y.10001 phone no. 1-212-621-1500
It is not often that I wish
September 4, 2009 - 18:55 ET by BKeyserIt is not often that I wish anyone harm. And as a Marine Corps Veteran, I have spent many hours contemplating what I and others have gone through in the performance of our duties as Marines.
I watched the "audio slideshow" by the AP's Julie Jacobson and having seen and listened to her self-serving, abstract narrative of the battle during which LCpl Bernard was wounded, I can think of nothing more than to hope that those at the AP who decided to put on this disgusting display, as well as Ms. Jacobson, be captured by the Taliban and..., Well, let me put it this way, Daniel Pearl was the wrong reporter, Julie Jacobson should have been the one. I wish her the same fate.
Maybe then, Ms. Jacobson, you will feel like world peace has descended on your place on Earth, you utter waste of a human being.
For those offended by my message, I apologize. To the AP and Ms. Jacobson, I do not.
Semper fi, LCpl Bernard- God rest your soul.
Well said, BKeyser....
September 4, 2009 - 22:10 ET by pantrymanwell said and well done, Marine.....
I have nothing to add to your good words.
From an old Combat Engineer, '64-'70....
*Salute*
BK... My everlasting
September 4, 2009 - 22:19 ET by bigtimerBK...
My everlasting gratitude for those words.
'Go Green...Recycle Congress'
Islam's war on the west is unpleasant and brutal too.
September 4, 2009 - 23:57 ET by JWFWhere are the pictures of dead and dying people from the daily bombings from Islamic fascists? Where are the pictures of the body parts from the suicidal bombers?
Where are the unpleasant and brutal photos from these?
Bomb in south Thailand kills policeman, wounds 12(AP) – 18 hours ago
* MUSSAYAB - At least four people were killed and 24 wounded near Mussayab, 60 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, when a bomb exploded at a Shi'ite Muslim shrine as people were arriving at the mosque after breaking their daily Ramadan fast, police said.
* BAGHDAD - Five people were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded in northern Baghdad, police said.
* BAGHDAD - A leader of an anti-insurgent Sunni militia group and four others were wounded when a sticky bomb attached to their car exploded in south Baghdad, police said.
* MOSUL - At least four bombs in the volatile northern city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, killed one police officer and wounded around half a dozen civilians and members of the security forces, police said.
* BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb targeting a patrol of anti-insurgent Sunni militiamen in northern Baghdad wounded eight people, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi police patrol wounded two policemen in southwestern Baghdad on Wednesday, police said.
RAMADI - An attack on Wednesday by a suicide bomber riding a motorbike wounded four policeman and one civilian outside the home of a police officer in Ramadi, 100 km (62 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.
TAL AFAR - Police said a militant shot and killed a man and his wife in their home in Tal Afar, 420 km (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad, on Wednesday. When Iraqi security forces arrived on the scene, the militant detonated an explosive vest and killed himself, wounding 10 members of the security forces
SUSPECTED Islamic separatist militants have killed two villagers in separate shootings in Thailand's restive south, police said on Sunday.
* LAGHMAN - A suicide bomber killed at least 23 people including Abdullah Laghmani, deputy head of the National Directorate for Security, said the provincial governor who witnessed the attack.
* JOWZJAN - A remote-controlled bomb placed by insurgents on a bicycle next to a road in Shiberghan, the provincial capital of northern Jowzjan province, killed one civilian and wounded six more, the Interior Ministry said.
And those were just the last few days.
Sincerely,
a Veteran of a 1000 psychic wars.
Islam's war on the
September 5, 2009 - 00:00 ET by NL207Islam's war on the infidels. NOT Islam's war on the West.
I know we are quibbling here sir.
September 5, 2009 - 00:43 ET by JWFI prefer the term The West.
Wikipedia -
The exact scope of the Western world is somewhat subjective in nature, depending on whether cultural, economic, spiritual or political criteria are employed. In general however these definitions always include the following countries: the countries of Western Europe, South America, North America, Israel, Australia and New Zealand. These are Western European or Western European-derived nations which enjoy relatively strong economies and stable governments, allow freedom of religion, have chosen democracy as a form of governance, favor capitalism and international trade, are heavily influenced by Judeo-Christian values, and have some form of political and military alliance or cooperation.
I know Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan are not technically part of the West. They are bumping up against them and therein lies the problem as far as Islam is concerned.
Sincerely,
a Veteran of a 1000 psychic wars.
But that definition does not
September 5, 2009 - 00:51 ET by NL207But that definition does not include India, Phillipines and China, in all three of which Islamic Jihadists are operating in a state of violence and proscribed by law.
islam has been at war with free men since it was
September 5, 2009 - 03:35 ET by Army Bratexcreted from the mind of mo.
No one, including muslims are exempt from the violence that is present in the koran and encouraged by the various imams and ayatoilets that choose to preach "death to all non-believers", or those that do not believe properly. (Sunni and Shia for instance.)
Yeah yeah...there's violence in the Bible, but no Christians killed anyone for "Piss Christ", or any of the other obscenities that have been created by "artists" smearing fecal matter on some Christian symbol or another and calling it art.
All it took was some cartoons for death to be spread in the name of islam.
Hindus, Copts, Jews, Buddhists, atheists...all are subject to the same three choices under islam. Convert, submit, (pay the jizya) or die. That's it.
islam is a lie and Truth is killing it.
Yes. It does. mostly.
September 5, 2009 - 04:48 ET by JWFThe Philippines was a colony of Spain, hence the christianity, and a colony of the U.S, hence the democratic ideals.
India is part of the British Commonwealth.
China, no, but Islam is not very much at war with them. China like the USSR before them, simply kills any opposition. That is why we can't send the Uighurs back. Islam being at war with China. I don't see it so much.
Why can't we both be right?
Sincerely,
a Veteran of a 1000 psychic wars.
I
September 5, 2009 - 10:21 ET by jessieHI really can not wait till the AP goes broke. That goes for the rest of the MSM. The father should sue the AP for every thing they have. This is just wrong.
AP's Disgusting Decision
September 6, 2009 - 04:58 ET by packmanRe: AP's decision to publish a photo of a mortally-wounded Marine:
It is most unfortunate that the "media" in the form of the Associated Press absolutely disregarded the pain and grief of this Marine's family over his death, and made the decision to go public with this photo. Those liberal sons-of-b**tches have no heart and certainly no soul. Just how much of this crap can they get away with under the guise of "reporting the news?"
I had the honor to serve six years in the United States Marine Corps, an experience that has affected my life forever. The thing that stands out for me is the caliber of men and women I served with. They were the kinds of people who would throw their body on a hand grenade, even if you were a complete stranger, but just happened to be sharing a foxhole at the moment. Unlike those intellectuals, those elite, well-educated brain-washed dipsh**ts whose only thought is how to save their own sorry a**es.
We pay sports figures millions of dollars for their performances, and often idolize them. But as a nation, we treat our military men and women as cannon-fodder, often relegating them to the care of the Veteran's Administration when they come back home missing limbs, psychologically damaged or worse -- and it is often a fate worse than death itself. You would think that somewhere in this process, someone with half a brain might think publishing a photo of a wounded, dying Marine might just smack of...disrespect? Are there any liberals out there who actually are capable of experiencing that emotion?
But then they would have to actually have a brain, wouldn't they?
Semper Fi!
Were we directed from Washington when to sow and when to reap, we should soon want bread... ~Thomas Jefferson