Department of Defense really pisses me off - CENSORSHIP!

[Jim0322 Profile]

From http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/05/14/iraq.berg/index.html

Berg's body arrived Wednesday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. His parents had requested permission to be at the base when the coffin arrived, but that request was denied. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, said Thursday that refusal came from the Department of Defense.

*******
They fire people for taking photos of flag draped coffins. They shut down a web site that has photos of flagged coffins of soldiers KIA. And now they forbid the parents of this poor guy from meeting the airplane carrying his coffin from Iraq. This is just outrageous. So it is perfectly OK to use images of the 9/11 dead for political ads but parents can't even go to receive the remains of their dead son? We need to stop trying to cover up death. I really feel bad for his parents.

Jim

[Irish]

I thought about that. I think they wanted to pull a CSI on the body. Fingerprints, skin samples and DNA type stuff. Will be used against whoever if they catch the guy that did it. So I can almost understand if thats why they wanted the body processed first. If it was the case they should have simply told the family that.

[Bagginses]

Originally posted by Irish
I thought about that. I think they wanted to pull a CSI on the body. Fingerprints, skin samples and DNA type stuff. Will be used against whoever if they catch the guy that did it. So I can almost understand if thats why they wanted the body processed first. If it was the case they should have simply told the family that.

Yeah, but how would that investigation be hindered if his family just stood on the runway and watched the coffin be brought off. It's not like they want to see the body itself, or do anything that could "contaminate" it.

-Bagginses

[MajorFatty]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/05/12/iraq.berg/

An earlier article on Nicholas Berg.

[Murgatroyd]

I agree with Jim on this one. His poor family, after all they've been through just wanted to stand there and watch the remains of their murdered sibling come home, but no. For some arbitrary (as it seems) reason, the DOD said 'No.'

All other things aside, the DoD can kiss my ass on this one.

[Jeffro Profile YIM]

And murg...pm those links for the ww2 weaponry please... Thank you.

[Folic_Acid Profile ICQYIM]

A Defense Department spokesman said Dover Air Base discourages arrival ceremonies for remains. The base is meant to be a brief stopover on the way to the final resting place of the deceased.

[RCglider Profile]

This is not unusual.....sheesh.

[Chacal Profile Website]

Originally posted by Jim0322
We need to stop trying to cover up death.

Not to hijack the thread, but why do you think there are so many "security consultants" in Iraq? They get killed a lot, but they're not tallied as US casualties.

[Colonel Ingus Profile]

Chacal read "security consultant" as mercenary.

These guys are doing crap the regular military will not do. Like testing new types of ammo out in the field that are contraversial.

What kind of "work" was this dude looking for anyway?

[Chacal Profile Website]

Yes, I know they're mercenaries.

Does "Soldier of Fortune" still exist? I should go buy a copy. Last time I read it (about 15 years ago) they were all mourning the dwindling market. Now they must be happy again

[cavalierlwt Profile]

Mercenaries fight as soldiers for pay. Security Consultants are ex-soldiers who escort businessmen, politicians, or workers. There's a huge difference. I took a trip to Egypt a few years back and we had an armed escort (not a soldier) who escorted us back to the hotel. This guy was NOT a mercenary, he wasn't there to fight a war, he was simply an armed escort, a 'security consultant'.