LA Times exhibits double standards over suicide bomber photos
WHO is the victim here? The BBC reports on American soldiers and detonated suicide bombers – members of the 82nd Airborne Division were pictured posting with remains of suspected suicide bombers in Afghanistan:
The US government has condemned the conduct of several American soldiers shown apparently abusing the corpses of suspected Afghan insurgents in 2010. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta’s spokesman pledged that the perpetrators would be punished.
His comments came after the Los Angeles Times published pictures showing US soldiers posing with the mangled remains of suspected suicide bombers … “Anyone found responsible for this inhuman conduct will be held accountable in accordance with our military justice system,” the spokesman said, adding that a criminal investigation was under way.
Is posting with the bodies worse than the bombers who tried to murder? Who’s the victim here?
What about publishing the photos? The LA Times says:
“After careful consideration, we decided that publishing a small but representative selection of the photos would fulfil our obligation to readers to report vigorously and impartially on all aspects of the American mission in Afghanistan, including the allegation.”
When those Danish Mohammed cartoons caused murder in Afghanistan, the LA Times didn’t publish the images. Were they not an aspect of the American mission, then?
Or is just easier to castigate your own side?
Image: Afghan security officers examine the site of a suicide car bomb in Heart, southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, April 8, 2006. The suicide car bomb outside a NATO military base killed two Afghans and wounded seven others – the second such attack on a foreign military base in as many days. (AP Photo)
Posted: 19th, April 2012 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
