The Associated Press - An Organization Without Judgment or Decency
Friday, September 04, 2009
[Hat tip to the Mudville Gazette for sending this story]
In the Politico today, Secretary Gates admonishes the AP for publishing a photo of Lance Corporal Joshua Bernard dying in Afghanistan:
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father had asked – in an interview and in a follow-up phone call — that the image, taken by an embedded photographer, not be published.
AP reported in a story that it decided to make the image public anyway because it “conveys the grimness of war and the sacrifice of young men and women fighting it.”
The photo shows Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard of New Portland, Maine, who was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in a Taliban ambush Aug. 14 in Helmand province of southern Afghanistan, according to The AP.
Gates wrote to Thomas Curley, AP’s president and chief executive officer. “Out of respect for his family’s wishes, I ask you in the strongest of terms to reconsider your decision. I do not make this request lightly. In one of my first public statements as Secretary of Defense, I stated that the media should not be treated as the enemy, and made it a point to thank journalists for revealing problems that need to be fixed – as was the case with Walter Reed.
“I cannot imagine the pain and suffering Lance Corporal Bernard’s death has caused his family. Why your organization would purposefully defy the family’s wishes knowing full well that it will lead to yet more anguish is beyond me. Your lack of compassion and common sense in choosing to put this image of their maimed and stricken child on the front page of multiple American newspapers is appalling. The issue here is not law, policy or constitutional right – but judgment and common decency.”
The four-paragraph letter concluded, “Sincerely,” then had Gates’ signature...
Below is the caption of the photo taken by AP photographer Julie Jacobson:
In this photo taken Friday, Aug. 14, 2009, Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard is tended to by fellow U.S. Marines after being hit by a rocket propelled grenade during a firefight against the Taliban in the village of Dahaneh in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Bernard was transported by helicopter to Camp Leatherneck where he later died of his wounds.
He died on the scene as Jacobson would go on to write about the photo:
"That's when I realized there was a casualty and saw the injured Marine, about 10 yards from where I'd stood," Jacobson would write in her journal. "For the second time in my life, I watched a Marine lose his. He was hit with the RPG which blew off one of his legs and badly mangled the other. ... I hadn't seen it happen, just heard the explosion. I hit the ground and lay as flat as I could and shot what I could of the scene."
This editor's note was in the sidebar next to the above statement in the Portland (Maine) Press Herald:
EDITOR'S NOTE
Although the Associated Press chose to distribute a photo of Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard taken shortly after he was mortally wounded, we believe that running the photo would be in poor taste and have chosen not to run it.
So, yes it was in poor taste and without consideration to LCpl Bernard's family. But was there other motivations? Here is Julie Jacobson's excuse:
"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?"
The Associated Press is long known for anti-war bias and even supporting the propaganda of the enemy (Bilal Hussein, anyone?).
Apparently, it is the enemy of common human decency as well.
Update: The military community is understandably upset.
I'll post their links and responses after the Jump.
First, I'll post a link to the response from Old Blue, a soldier in Afghanistan now.
Next, the American Legion has responded. The National Commander's Press Release is below:
American Legion National Commander blasts AP decision to release image of fallen Marine hero
INDIANAPOLIS (September 4, 2009) – “Outrageously irresponsible,” is how the leader of the nation’s largest veterans organization characterized the Associated Press’s decision to release a photo of a dying U.S. Marine taken in Afghanistan.
“The lack of compassion and common decency shown by the Associated Press in releasing this photograph is stunning,” said American Legion National Commander Clarence E. Hill, a retired Navy captain. “Lance Corporal Joshua Bernard is a hero who gave his life for his country. His family is understandably offended. I have asked the American Legion state commander in Maine to reach out to this family. Indeed everybody in The American Legion stands with this family.”
The photo shows Bernard bleeding after being stuck by a rocket-propelled grenade in a Taliban ambush Aug. 14. Before the photograph was publicly released, Secretary of Defense Robert Gate asked Thomas Curley, AP’s president and chief executive officer to refrain from transmitting the image. “Out of respect for his family’s wishes, I ask you in the strongest of terms to reconsider your decision. I do not make this request lightly…The issue here is not law, policy or constitutional right – but judgment and common decency.”
“Secretary Gates was right,” Hill added. “The issue is judgment and common decency. There is some information, some actions that occur, that are simply too private, too personal, and too tragic to be intentionally broadcast into the homes of millions. For families with loved ones overseas, the fear of what might happen to them is a near constant companion. This photo not only keeps open the wounds of war for the Bernard family, but it also increases the fear for the families of those who are still facing the reality of sudden death every day.”
Hill called for a review by the Department of Defense of the rules governing embedded media. “This should never have occurred in the first place, nor should it be allowed to occur again,” Hill said. “Ironically, when I visited Camp Delta at Guantanamo, the photographer was prohibited from taking images showing the faces of detained terrorists. Yet, photographers are allowed to shoot photographs of fallen American heroes? Where is the common sense? Where is the common decency?”
With a membership of 2.6-million wartime veterans, The American Legion was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national security, veterans affairs, Americanism, and patriotic youth programs