Cold War Veterans Blog

Dover Ban Should Be Lifted

I do not like the idea of our goverment hiding the human cost of the GWOT. This is a email that came in from VoteVets.org . I invite your comments. Should the ban be lifted? Personally I think so. Chime in below what do you think.

Dear VoteVets.org Supporter,

We're hearing that the Pentagon is close to making a recommendation to the President on whether to lift the ban on photos of caskets of our returning war dead at Dover Air Force Base and other ports of entry. There is very good reason for the Pentagon to lift the ban, and we want to ensure that they do.

CLICK HERE TO SEND A LETTER TO THE PENTAGON, URGING THEM TO LIFT THE DOVER BAN

The ban is not something that's been around forever. In fact, it's a pretty recent policy, instituted for purely political reasons, with waivers given, also for purely political reasons. The ban was instituted just before the first Gulf War, by the first President Bush, worried that images of the dead coming home could affect support for the war, just as they had during Vietnam. But, George W. Bush allowed images of a victim of the Pentagon 9/11 attacks to be shown, to stir up anger (as if we needed any more reason).

More importantly, those of us who served swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Part of that Constitution is freedom of the press, to promote the ability of the public to have as much information as possible -- even when that information is not comfortable for those decision-makers in power.

And finally, this is about being able to honor the fallen. The return ceremony is incredibly respectful, and deeply honorable. We should be allowing all Americans to share in honoring the fallen, not hiding it.

CLICK HERE TO URGE THE PENTAGON TO CHANGE THE DOVER BAN