1115.org

One of the most popular pieces on this site was one about photos of flag-draped coffins carrying U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On Monday, the U.S. Senate voted down an amendment (54-39) authored by Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey) that would have effectively reversed the Pentagon’s policy of banning photographs of flag-draped coffins.

These caskets that arrive at Dover are not named; we just see them,” said John McCain, a former Navy pilot who was a prisoner of war for five years in Vietnam. He added, “I think we ought to know the casualties of war.”

Of course the President has a different view:

President Bush has insisted that the policy banning the photography protects the privacy of the families of the dead, a view reiterated by lawmakers who opposed the measure.

We’re still waiting for an enterprising member of the professional press to ask supporters of the ban about the x-ray vision that allows people to see through flags.

You can view the details of the Senate vote here.

We would like to take a minute to applaud McCain and Olympia J. Snowe for crossing party lines to vote to remove the ban. Democratic Senators Biden, Bayh, Breaux, Carper, Landrieu, Levin, Lincoln, Miller, Nelson, and Pryor, should answer for their votes against. They have made this country weaker by restricting access to important public information.

Beyond the fact that repatriating soldiers’ remains is news, it should have a place in what passes for public debate.

“The information of the people at large can alone make them the safe as they are the sole depositary of our political and religious freedom.” - Thomas Jefferson, 1810

But then, withholding information is old hat:

The Justice Department, meanwhile, disavowed a memo written in 2002 that appeared to justify the use of torture in the war on terror. The memo also argued that the president’s wartime powers superseded anti-torture laws and treaties. That 50-page memo dated Aug. 1, 2002, will be replaced because it contained overbroad and irrelevant advice, senior Justice Department officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Now they get to suspend laws and treaties and replace 50-page memos in which they decide to give themselves extra powers? I’m not a diplomat, but these treaties that the administration thinks they can break “because we’re at war” were meant for times of war. Who needs torture laws in peacetime?

Both of these examples show in clear terms that truth and openness are not top priorities with this administration. But what’s worse is the damage they are doing to our future.

We will be in another war at some point, and odds are it will be a more evenly matched one than the last few. Any American soldier who is captured will be tortured, count on it. How will this play at home? Soldiers will be killed in action, will we be able to see our sons and daughters who made the ultimate sacrifice? With the bar set so low for both torture and restrictions on media, what are we fighting for?

We are supposed to have “government of the people, by the people and for the people.” Who is served by restricting information and making documents disappear?

**Thanks to Chris Kaos and Ratana for the links.