Dover Photo Ban Lifted, Defense Secretary Says
WASHINGTON, DC (February 26, 2009) – Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has decided to allow photographs of flag-draped caskets arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware as America's war dead return home as long as the families of the fallen troops agree to it, the Pentagon announced today.
The 18-year-old ban was put in place in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush.
"My conclusion was we should not presume to make the decision for the families," Gates said.
In making his choice the Secretary of Defense took into account the policy that's used at Arlington National Cemetery, the nation's historic burying ground that sits on a hillside just northwest of the Pentagon's lawn. At Arlington the decision about whether the deceased soldier's funeral is covered by the press or not is left up to each individual family.
The Dover Air Force Base is home to the military's largest mortuary facility. The bodies of killed American troops come back to the States through Dover before traveling on to hometowns and their families.
"I have always believed that the decision as to how to honor our fallen heroes should be left up to the families," Vice President Joe Biden said. "The past practice didn't account for a family's wishes and I believed that was wrong."
During the Vietnam War the daily pictures of so many flag-covered caskets coming back to the tarmac in Dover helped shift America's attitude to be against the war, so much so that the Pentagon began referring to how the public might react to a military operation's casualties as "the Dover test."
The first Bush administration didn't want public opinion against the first Gulf War to possibly shift by seeing bodies of soldiers coming home from a war that was supposed to be "high tech" and have fewer casualties, and so the ban went into place.
"I'm pleased that the Department of Defense has decided to rescind the ban," National Press Photographers Association president Bob Carey said today in response to the news. "This is an important moment in our history and it speaks loudly for the First Amendment. It also is an important step to honor our fallen heros. I believe that in hindsight, we will see that when the ban was lifted it was a positive point in history."
The ban came under review last month after newly-inaugurated President Barack Obama responded to a question from CNN's Ed Henry during Obama's first live prime-time televised press conference. When asked about the ban, Obama responded that he wasn't yet ready to make a decision on lifting it but that he had asked Defense Secretary Gates to review the policy and to take into consideration all factors, including how the soldiers' families would feel about it.
Last week Gates, who asked for the George W. Bush administration to revisit the policy last year and was rebuked, said that as long as the families were in accordance and privacy concerns could be addressed, he was in favor of lifting the ban. Critics claimed the Bush administration was trying to hide the human cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The National Press Photographers Association has been calling for the ban to be lifted, and after Obama's press conference NPPA sent letters to Obama and Gates asking for it to end. The White House News Photographers Association joined NPPA in calling for an end to the ban. Both organizations offered their assistance to Gates to draw up new guidelines for media operations at Dover to insure both decorum and the appropriate level of press access so taht the arrivals can be well covered while maintaining the solemn and dignified atmosphere the military is concered with protecting.
"I am encouraged to learn that this ban has been lifted," NPPA's general legal counsel Mickey H. Osterreicher said today. "A free, robust and unfettered press is as much a part of our history and culture as is the Constitution and the three branches of government. This change in policy will not only honor those who have given their lives in defense of our nation but also uphold the freedoms for which they paid the ultimate sacrifice."
"We understand that the ability to photograph these homecomings is dependent on the approval of the families of the victims and we will have to work out the practical details on the ground as time goes on, especially should multiple caskets arrive at once," Associated Press director of photography Santiago Lyon said in a statement late today.
"AP is pleased with the U.S. Defense Secretary's decision, which allows us to augment our coverage of wars abroad in a more complete fashion by being able to document these sad homecomings of America's war dead with the dignity and respect they deserve ... Our job as a news organization is to photograph events as accurately and faithfully as possible. We leave the interpretation of the images to the viewer."
Not long after Obama took office, Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) asked Obama to lift the ban.
Vice President Biden, who for many years served as a Senator from Delaware, also opposed the ban. He said it was "shameful" that soldiers' remains were being "snuck back into the country under the cover of night."
Some veterans' organizations, such as the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, had voiced opposition to any lifting of the ban at Dover, saying that the ceremonies at Dover should remain private.
As of last week, 4,251 members of the military have died in the war in Iraq, and 584 in the war in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan, according to AP quotes of Defense Department numbers.
There have been rare exceptions to the ban, for for the most part the return of America's war dead through Dover has gone uncovered except through the photographs, kept private, taken by military photographers. In 2005 a Freedom of Information lawsuit resulted in hundreds of the Pentagon's own pictures of the flag-draped coffins being released to the public.
Earlier Stories: NPPA Asks Obama, Gates, To Lift Photo Ban
NPPA Marketplace
- Insure Your Equipment
- You go where the action is….so should your insurance! Hays delivers comprehensive insurance for your gear - covering cameras, computers, editing equipment and rental.
- Join the NPPA
- NPPA members receive a wide range of benefits, from educational opportunities to mentoring, exclusive discounts, insurance options, business tips, and much more.