| These photos were taken sometime during the first two weeks of the war against Iraq by a 20-year-old Marine Lance Corporal who was among the first forces rolling into Iraq from Kuwait.
Just north of Nasiriyah, men firing rocket propelled grenades from a bus at approaching Marines where "taken out." Chronogram was given other, more graphic photos of this firefight, but we chose not to publish them and, as BKM put it, "ambush our readers" with such horrific depictions. In both this editorial discussion and in the Chris Hedges interview the question arose as to whether Americans want to know the truth or not about war.
In our conversation Hedges said, "I think most people don’t want, I mean, let’s face it, we live with phenomenal opulence, luxury and wealth, and we’re quite content to live with that and think of ourselves as good people. But the only way to do it is not ask the hard questions. Not really ask or understand what was done in our name in Angola. Or Nicaragua. Or the host of other countries in the developing world that I have covered over the last two decades. We prefer to turn away and not see it. We don’t want to see it."
In addition, Hedges alleges the press simply regurgitates back what the given administration of the day tells them, especially in war time, because they feel obligated to "do their bit for the effort." He also discusses corporate control of media which views “war as entertainment” to be translated into high ratings and high profit margins.
I feel Americans want to know the truth. But if we are not shown the truth – such as depicted in these photographs; or not told the truth, how can it be said that Americans are given the choice of knowing the truth about war?
The Lance Corporal’s family wants these photos depicting the real face of war to be seen to help Americans see what we are asking of our children when we send them off to war. This page has been set up as an invitation to readers to enter into this discussion, view other photos Chronogram chose not to publish, and read the complete interviews from this month’s News and Politics section, links to which can be found here. We have protected the photographer's identity in order to shield him from possible reprisals.
-LTychostup
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