Thinking about that sad photo of the soldier and the dying child

[LittleClarkie]

that the Pentagon released.

Some have said "We need to show this to people far and wide."

But think about that for a moment. Why would the Pentagon release that photo?

To make people angry at the evil insurgents who'd kill an innocent child, I think. And to show a caring soldier trying to comfort her, in contrast to the someone like Englund, or the soldiers in Monday's Bob Herbert column in the NYT, who enjoyed crashing bottles on civilians heads as they buzzed by on their Humvees.

We see the horrors of war. They see a public relations opportunity. I do believe they WANT that photo spread far and wide.

Am I being too cynical?

[ngGale]

1. If you are cynical - so am I....

that was my first thought. Hate to admit it, but I see photo op with any heart warming pic. How can you put trust into people who are nothing except users. They pick and choose what we see!

[keopeli]

2. Yes, you are being too cynical

It's true, the release of the photo was certainly calculated. It's also safe to assume that it was meant to enrage American's against insurgents.

The problem is that there is another message in the photo which seems to be more prescient. The soldier's face is not shown - and there is an absence of the insurgent in the photo. The only thing connecting the dead child to an insurgent is accompanying descriptions.

Sure, many ditto heads will learn the proper mantra. But, most Americans will likely react with utter sympathy for the soldier who, being faceless, can represent the entire Army. American's do not currently have a collective will to fight in Iraq. Rather, they hope for a peaceful resolution and the return of the soldiers.

This photo represents America's unhappy reality today. It is a painful photo that tells of our current condition in Iraq and the danger to the soldiers. This photo is incredibly powerful and deserves widespread attention, no matter what the reaction of the American public will be. Just as the Abu Graib photos needed coverage (and many more exist that still need to be released), this photo captures a moment of truth - and that is something of which we are in terribly short supply.

[blogbear]

5. I agree and believe that photos as these stick in our minds and need

to..I still remember (as I'm sure many others do) certain photos from the vietnam era and even WWII..

[O.M.B.inOhio]

3. you got it right

You don't see the Pentagon distributing the photos of U.S. soldiers trying to comfort the toddler whose parents' brains they blew out at a checkpoint. The pictures I'm thinking of, from some British source, show 2 kids, about 2 and 4, covered with their parents, blood. They're screaming. It's darn, and the soldiers, in their scary gear, are shining the flashlights on their rifles (!) at the kids' faces. Approach my 3 year old like that and he'd be terrified, even if he weren't covered with his parents' splattered brains.

Appaerntly the soldiers had given them hand signals and they did not come to a complete stop fast enough. There have been several times when a cop has given me weird signals with a flag or a wand or their hand that I haven't understood. So shoot my face off because I didn't go to traffic cop school. Show those pictures, Rumsfeld (or is it Renfield?)

That's right, George, err on the side of life.

[still_one]

4. why doesn't the pentagon show pictures of the results of our bombs?

[FSogol]

6. They do want this photo spread, but

they intend for it to show the humanity of the American soldiers to promote the reason for going to war.

IMO they have misjudged this photo's effect. All but the most deluded Bush supporter's know that the reasons for the war in Iraq are based on lies and misrepresentations. The photo clearly shows the cost and pointlessness of this war.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

7. on a morning talk show a US soldier had a 9 yr old autistic Iraqi boy....

with him whom he had brought back to the US to get medical aid for and was trumpeting his good deed on national TV, when (can't remember if it was Soladar or Couric)tried engaging the child in conversation (somewhat successfully) and then after she went back to talking to the soldier and continued praising the soldier for what he and the US military was doing for the Iraqi people, the boy yells at her twice "they bombed my orphanage, they bombed my orphanage"...she tried to go on talking to just the soldier and ignoring what the child had said (and hoping we would too)but, this beautiful boy repeated it again "THEY BOMBED MY ORPHANAGE". they were visibly shaken (flustered) and the segment was cut short.


I LOVED IT AND THANKED GOD FOR USING THIS CHILD TO REVEAL TRUTH

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES!

it was a few weeks ago :shurg: