The pictures of that horrid incident are revolting, and most news outlets have refused to print or air them.
One exception is the San Diego Union Tribune, which graced this morning's front page with them--above the fold. This sparked an angry debate on the Rick Roberts show on KFMB this morning.
Rick's position, as well as most of his callers, condemned the UT's display of those images. As conservatives, they felt that the reason for using them was to gin up feelings against the war in Iraq. They are no doubt correct. But I differed in my feelings about those pics and decided to shoot Rick an e-mail during his show explaining why I felt as I do. To my suprise, he read my email, verbatim, during the next segment. After doing so, he said that I had given him a completely different perspective on the matter, and that he might have to rethink his position on the matter. Below is the e-mail I sent him:
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Falluja pics
Date: Thu, 01 Apr 2004 08:21:20 -0800
From: [psyop]
Reply-To: ******************
To: rickroberts@kfmb.com
Dear Mr. Roberts,
I'm afraid I have to disagree about the pics. I know the UT put them there to turn opinion against the war, but it is my hope and my belief that it will do the opposite. I have a daughter serving in Iraq right now. And everytime I hear of a bomb going off over there my blood pressure goes up till I find out she is still safe.
After 9/11 the press in this country did its level best to make us forget what happened. They censored the images because they were afraid we couldn't handle it. They were afraid we'd have the proper reaction. They were afraid we'd demand a war on terrorism. On the first anniversary of 9/11 they swept it even further under the rug. They didn't want us lashing out against the Muslims. They helped spread the lie that Islam is a religion of peace, when in fact it is a death cult (I've read the Koran several times and am well versed in middle-eastern history).
Those images on the pages of the UT are important. People here need to see them and get angry. They also need to see the film footage--shown repeatedly around the world, but suppresed here--of the poor victims jumping out of the twin towers and bouncing off the roofs and streets below (not just the occasional still). People are well on their way to forgetting why we’re at war and what the stakes are.
The UT photos should stir up some righteous fury. I believe it will be in favor of prosecuting this war with greater vigor, even though the UT hopes it will go the other way.
Sincerely,
[psyop]
Escondido, CA
Never Forget!
