Out of Sight Out of Mind

I have an interesting theory. Photographers and the press were pretty much given open access to the Vietnam War, and subsequentially their war reporting streamed through the television and into American living rooms every evening. It was virtually impossible to escape the horrific images of the deadly human toll of war, and possibly why Americans were in an uproar to get our soldiers the hell out of that region.

This time around, the American Military has made it increasingly difficult for the media to obtain access to the battlefront in Iraq and Afghanistan. The government takes the stance that photos of coffins and dead soldiers are not good for morale, and are insulting to the families of those fallen soldiers. But when all we see are names listed in a newspaper, I think that we forget the incredible sacrifice that these people have made for our country. We need more reminders of this.

The New York Times has a good article up right now on the matter: 4,000 U.S. Deaths, and Just a Handful of Public Images.

The NYT mentions the story of Zoriah Miller, a photojournalist who has been banned from Marine-controlled areas of Iraq for publishing photos of fallen soldiers.

Click the photo below to see his photos your government doesn't want you to see.

--Forward from Zoriah, explaining the days events

"My hands still shake and my heart pounds despite my fatigue. A combination of depression, fear, and adrenaline makes my thoughts race with the realization that a simple decision was the only thing that seperated me from a body count that grows daily. I look at the images I took on the 26th of June, and realize they do nothing to capture the emotion of being an eyewitness to the aftermath of the Al-Qaeda suicide attack in Karmah/Garma... the smell... the sound of screams and crying.

I want you to observe and comprehend what others live through on a daily basis -- to see what the Iraqi civilians and foreign soldiers see. I want people who follow my photography to understand that although I am able to bring images of war to the world in a form of art, what actually goes on here is horror. My message is not that war yields great photography. My message is: War yields human misery and suffering.

My eyewitness report and the images contained in the link below are extremely graphic. To see the reality of the Iraq War -- please read and view my entire post by clicking the link below."



In closing I leave you with Amendment I of the Bill of Rights:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

So do you think it's fair that your government doesn't want you to see what your tax dollars are paying for?