Ban on photos of U.S. troops' coffins lifted
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration said Thursday it will lift an 18-year ban on coverage of the return of military members killed in war by allowing families of the fallen to decide whether the news media may photograph the flag-covered caskets.
"We should not presume to make the decision for the families," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said. "We should actually let them make it."
As President Bush's Defense chief, Gates said, he had looked into lifting the ban on coffins at Delaware's Dover Air Force Base, where fallen troops arrive for transfer to their hometowns.
Back then, Gates said, he deferred to Pentagon advisers who said letting the news media take pictures might compel families to travel to Dover to be there to receive their loved ones' remains rather than wait for them to arrive home. It was also to protect the privacy of grieving families, he was told.
"I was never comfortable" with the justification, Gates said Thursday.
The ban on news media photos was put in place by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 during the Gulf War and upheld by President George W. Bush. It became a political issue in 2004 when unauthorized photos of the caskets appeared on the Web.
Democrats tried to lift the ban that year but were rebuffed by the Republican-controlled Congress. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said at the time that the ban was an attempt to "conceal from the American people the true costs of this war."
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama asked for a review of the policy and Gates recommended Dover ceremonies be treated like funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. Families there decide whether the news media are present.
Details of the change must still be worked out, such as what to do when more than one casket arrives and families disagree on allowing photos.
The change was welcomed by some.
"All too often, the sacrifices of our military are hidden from view," said Paul Rieckhoff of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "The sight of flag-draped coffins is, and should be, a sobering reminder to all Americans of the ultimate sacrifice our troops have made."
