Stars and Stripes in Dover

The United States has a curious policy of censorship governing the arrival of coffins at Dover Air Force Base. The coffins, carrying the casualties of war, arrive at the base in Deleware, wrapped in American flags, before being escorted home. Since 1991, all press coverage of their arrival has been officially banned.

Proponents of the ban argue that it protects the privacy of soldiers' families. But the ban, as the New York Times notes, was effected not out of concern for these families, but for political reasons:

In 1989, the TV networks showed a split screen of President George H. W. Bush in jocular banter with reporters on one side while on the other, the first American casualties from Panama were returning to Dover. A veteran himself, Mr. Bush was deeply embarrassed at the juxtaposition and asked the networks to warn the White House when they intended to use split screens again. They declined. At the next opportunity, in February 1991, during the first gulf war, the Pentagon banned photos of returning coffins.

However, without images of coffins arriving in Dover, public opinion still turned against the Iraq war, while remaining strongly in favor of adding 17,000 more troops to the war in Afghanistan before fall. It seems that whether the coffins arrive in secret or not has little to do with public support for a war. But keeping them secret is shameful. If these soldiers are dying for causes that American citizens support, their deaths should not be covered up. With some provisions for a family's discretion, media coverage should be allowed; it can be conducted respectfully, without a papparazzi-like importunity.

UPDATE:

That was much easier than expected.