Remember how war dead weren't talked about?

[Senestrum]

More specifically, remember how little the dead soldiers were talked about? Or how the White house usually got mad when people took pictures of them?

Obama has decided that the US public can deal with it. He also personally paid his respects to those latest few who died. Picture.

President Obama said Thursday that watching the arrival of 18 flag-draped cases containing bodies of Americans killed in Afghanistan was a "sobering reminder" of U.S. sacrifice as he prepares to decide on sending more troops there.

At a brief media appearance with visiting Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, Obama was asked whether his unannounced appearance at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the pre-dawn dignified transfer of the bodies would influence his decision on troop levels in Afghanistan.

"Obviously, it was a sobering reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices that our young men and women in uniform are engaging in every single day," the president said.

Obama said the burden of war on U.S. troops and their families will "bear on how I see these conflicts."

"It is something I think about each and every day," he said.

Also in attendance for the transfer of the bodies were Attorney General Eric Holder and Michele Leonhart, acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The bodies included three DEA special agents and 15 U.S. troops who died in Afghanistan this week.

The agents were killed Monday as they returned from a raid on a compound believed to be harboring insurgents tied to drug trafficking. Seven U.S. troops also died when their helicopter went down in western Afghanistan.

The military transport that landed in Delaware also included the bodies of eight U.S. soldiers killed Tuesday when their vehicles were hit by roadside bombs in two incidents in southern Afghanistan.

The soldiers were from the 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division, based at Fort Lewis, Washington.

The DEA identified the agents killed Monday as Forrest N. Leamon, 37, of Woodbridge, Virginia; Chad L. Michael, 30, of Quantico, Virginia; and Michael E. Weston, 37, of Washington.

Leamon and Michael were members of the DEA's Foreign-deployed Advisory and Support Teams, and Weston was assigned to the agency's Kabul office.

[RightLeaningChristians]

Interesting. Seems more focus was put on the DEA agents, but still interesting.






23 More days until I enlist. Can't fucking wait!

[Dododecapod]

23 More days until I enlist. Can't fucking wait!

Good on ya, mate. Do as you think right, remember your training, and keep your head down.

[Lackadaisical2]

Interesting. Seems more focus was put on the DEA agents, but still interesting.






23 More days until I enlist. Can't fucking wait!

good luck, stay safe and have fun.

[Pickled Land Onions]

23 More days until I enlist. Can't fucking wait!

Best of luck to you, stay safe!

[Peepelonia]

23 More days until I enlist. Can't fucking wait!

Best of luck to you, stay safe!

Ummm well this may unleash a bit of a shit storm, but I'm afraid I can't add my congrats to the others. Hope when you come out you are not overly changed for the worse.

As to talking about the dead, yep I have noticed a change myself. An attempt to win hearts and minds perhaps?

[Linker Niederrhein]

More specifically, remember how little the dead soldiers were talked about? Or how the White house usually got mad when people took pictures of them?

Obama has decided that the US public can deal with it. He also personally paid his respects to those latest few who died. Picture.

Obama is a moron. It's certainly honourable and honest of him, but the reality is that restrictions on the media coverage of the... Unfortunate sides of war existed for a reason. If he wants to cease warring at all, it's cool, but he's been vocal about wanting to win Afghanistan for years.

Nobody has ever won a war by being honest about it. It's like trying to handle foreign affairs without lying - just plain stupid.

No, people do not want to see the dead. They do not want to see bodies ripped in half, crying widows and parents, exploding heads and red mist. They know it's there, somewhere in the back of their consciousness, but they do not wish for it to be dragged out into the open.

And if you want to have support for your war, you don't do the dragging.

[Desperate Measures]

More specifically, remember how little the dead soldiers were talked about? Or how the White house usually got mad when people took pictures of them?

Obama has decided that the US public can deal with it. He also personally paid his respects to those latest few who died. Picture.

Obama is a moron. It's certainly honourable and honest of him, but the reality is that restrictions on the media coverage of the... Unfortunate sides of war existed for a reason. If he wants to cease warring at all, it's cool, but he's been vocal about wanting to win Afghanistan for years.

Nobody has ever won a war by being honest about it. It's like trying to handle foreign affairs without lying - just plain stupid.

No, people do not want to see the dead. They do not want to see bodies ripped in half, crying widows and parents, exploding heads and red mist. They know it's there, somewhere in the back of their consciousness, but they do not wish for it to be dragged out into the open.

And if you want to have support for your war, you don't do the dragging.

Oh, don't worry.
There are still plenty of lies.

[Aelosia]

No, people do not want to see the dead. They do not want to see bodies ripped in half, crying widows and parents, exploding heads and red mist. They know it's there, somewhere in the back of their consciousness, but they do not wish for it to be dragged out into the open.

And if you want to have support for your war, you don't do the dragging.

I do want to see the dead, to know their names, to hear about how happened. It is supposed to be that way. Otherwise, war is a game of Command&Conquer with limited respawns.

[Desperate Measures]

I do want to see the dead, to know their names, to hear about how happened. It is supposed to be that way. Otherwise, war is a game of Command&Conquer with limited respawns.

Pretty much this. Americans are far too detached, in my opinion.

[Senestrum]

More specifically, remember how little the dead soldiers were talked about? Or how the White house usually got mad when people took pictures of them?

Obama has decided that the US public can deal with it. He also personally paid his respects to those latest few who died. Picture.

Obama is a moron. It's certainly honourable and honest of him, but the reality is that restrictions on the media coverage of the... Unfortunate sides of war existed for a reason. If he wants to cease warring at all, it's cool, but he's been vocal about wanting to win Afghanistan for years.

Nobody has ever won a war by being honest about it. It's like trying to handle foreign affairs without lying - just plain stupid.

No, people do not want to see the dead. They do not want to see bodies ripped in half, crying widows and parents, exploding heads and red mist. They know it's there, somewhere in the back of their consciousness, but they do not wish for it to be dragged out into the open.

And if you want to have support for your war, you don't do the dragging.

If seeing pictures of caskets is enough to make people want to end a war, then it probably isn't a war you should be in in the first place. The public needs to be made aware of the dead, or else they will see no consequences for going to war.

[RightLeaningChristians]

I agree that people do need to see. Alot of folks have went over there, but not everyone has been personally affected like in past wars. I've had family and friends go, but they all came back. It's the same for plenty of people around the nation.

23 More days until I enlist. Can't fucking wait!

Best of luck to you, stay safe!

Ummm well this may unleash a bit of a shit storm, but I'm afraid I can't add my congrats to the others. Hope when you come out you are not overly changed for the worse.

As to talking about the dead, yep I have noticed a change myself. An attempt to win hearts and minds perhaps?

I don't know if that will help win hearts and minds, but it might open up a few.

No problems with that. I hope some change does come, not sure what you mean by the worse though.

[Eofaerwic]

Interesting. Seems more focus was put on the DEA agents, but still interesting.

I imagine because DEA agents deaths are more unusualy, especially as they are technically civilians.

The thing is people already knew they were dying. You'd hear the casuatly statistics being reported all the time. This way the dead are honored and their sacrifice respected. If we are doing such a bad job at selling to reason for the war that seeing the dead is going to turn public opinion against it (especially since they're alreayd hearing the statistics) then frankly we're not going to win this war anyway.

[Grave_n_idle]

More specifically, remember how little the dead soldiers were talked about? Or how the White house usually got mad when people took pictures of them?

Obama has decided that the US public can deal with it. He also personally paid his respects to those latest few who died. Picture.

Obama is a moron. It's certainly honourable and honest of him, but the reality is that restrictions on the media coverage of the... Unfortunate sides of war existed for a reason. If he wants to cease warring at all, it's cool, but he's been vocal about wanting to win Afghanistan for years.

Nobody has ever won a war by being honest about it. It's like trying to handle foreign affairs without lying - just plain stupid.

No, people do not want to see the dead. They do not want to see bodies ripped in half, crying widows and parents, exploding heads and red mist. They know it's there, somewhere in the back of their consciousness, but they do not wish for it to be dragged out into the open.

And if you want to have support for your war, you don't do the dragging.

His Name is Robert Paulson.

[Muravyets]

More specifically, remember how little the dead soldiers were talked about? Or how the White house usually got mad when people took pictures of them?

Obama has decided that the US public can deal with it. He also personally paid his respects to those latest few who died. Picture.

Obama is a moron. It's certainly honourable and honest of him, but the reality is that restrictions on the media coverage of the... Unfortunate sides of war existed for a reason. If he wants to cease warring at all, it's cool, but he's been vocal about wanting to win Afghanistan for years.

Nobody has ever won a war by being honest about it. It's like trying to handle foreign affairs without lying - just plain stupid.

No, people do not want to see the dead. They do not want to see bodies ripped in half, crying widows and parents, exploding heads and red mist. They know it's there, somewhere in the back of their consciousness, but they do not wish for it to be dragged out into the open.

And if you want to have support for your war, you don't do the dragging.

Right, because nobody will ever notice all those kids joining up and never coming back. And nobody minds at all the idea of thousands of lives being shoveled into an endless meat grinder. Nope that's not offensive. But the government that asked them to sacrifice their lives actually acting like they give a shit and realize how important that is, yeah THAT's offensive.

[greed and death]

23 More days until I enlist. Can't fucking wait!

Hey Cherry, do what your told, remember what you were taught, and don't leave your battle buddy behind.

[Alexlantis]

23 More days until I enlist. Can't fucking wait!

Best of luck to you, stay safe!

God bless ya, remember to keep fighing for the homeland no matter what!

[Tkdkidsx2]

More specifically, remember how little the dead soldiers were talked about? Or how the White house usually got mad when people took pictures of them?

Obama has decided that the US public can deal with it. He also personally paid his respects to those latest few who died. Picture.

Obama is a moron. It's certainly honourable and honest of him, but the reality is that restrictions on the media coverage of the... Unfortunate sides of war existed for a reason. If he wants to cease warring at all, it's cool, but he's been vocal about wanting to win Afghanistan for years.

Nobody has ever won a war by being honest about it. It's like trying to handle foreign affairs without lying - just plain stupid.

No, people do not want to see the dead. They do not want to see bodies ripped in half, crying widows and parents, exploding heads and red mist. They know it's there, somewhere in the back of their consciousness, but they do not wish for it to be dragged out into the open.

And if you want to have support for your war, you don't do the dragging.

But that is the thing. It could go either way. It could cause an anger, a dull anger, but anger in the American populace (which is one of the most quick-changing opinion-wise in the world) which could bring more support for the war.


Giving a number of deaths in the Middle East gives no respect to those that died. It just makes them a statistic. As Joseph Stalin said, "One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic." and it proves itself everyday. Do you get teary-eyed when you hear that 3 good kids from x state were killed and it tells their life story? You sure do. But when you see that number, you recognize it as a statistic, an inhuman statistic that affects you in no way shape or form.

[Tkdkidsx2]

Interesting. Seems more focus was put on the DEA agents, but still interesting.

I imagine because DEA agents deaths are more unusualy, especially as they are technically civilians.

The thing is people already knew they were dying. You'd hear the casuatly statistics being reported all the time. This way the dead are honored and their sacrifice respected. If we are doing such a bad job at selling to reason for the war that seeing the dead is going to turn public opinion against it (especially since they're alreayd hearing the statistics) then frankly we're not going to win this war anyway.

Sorry, but I have to disagree.

Giving a number of deaths in the Middle East gives no respect to those that died. It just makes them a statistic. As Joseph Stalin said, "One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic." and it proves itself everyday. Do you get teary-eyed when you hear that 3 good kids from x state were killed and it tells their life story? You sure do. But when you see that number, you recognize it as a statistic, an inhuman statistic that affects you in no way shape or form.

[The Black Forrest]

That's a weird photo. It almost looks like he was added in.....

[Senestrum]

That's a weird photo. It almost looks like he was added in.....

That's a funny idea. After all, if you follow the link to CNN you get to see a fucking video.

[Alexlantis]

That's a weird photo. It almost looks like he was added in.....

That's a funny idea. After all, if you follow the link to CNN you get to see a fucking video.

Yeah, but it still looks weird and as though he was added in. He never said that Obama was added in, just that it looked weird.

[The Black Forrest]

That's a weird photo. It almost looks like he was added in.....

That's a funny idea. After all, if you follow the link to CNN you get to see a fucking video.

Yeah, but it still looks weird and as though he was added in. He never said that Obama was added in, just that it looked weird.

Thank you.

[Lyserl]

That's a weird photo. It almost looks like he was added in.....

That's a funny idea. After all, if you follow the link to CNN you get to see a fucking video.

Yeah, but it still looks weird and as though he was added in. He never said that Obama was added in, just that it looked weird.

I thought there was an implication that he wasn't there. Certainly an easy one to make, given the way it was phrased.

Edit: damn, wrong nation lol

[Meoton]

More specifically, remember how little the dead soldiers were talked about? Or how the White house usually got mad when people took pictures of them?

Obama has decided that the US public can deal with it. He also personally paid his respects to those latest few who died. Picture.

Obama is a moron. It's certainly honourable and honest of him, but the reality is that restrictions on the media coverage of the... Unfortunate sides of war existed for a reason. If he wants to cease warring at all, it's cool, but he's been vocal about wanting to win Afghanistan for years.

Nobody has ever won a war by being honest about it. It's like trying to handle foreign affairs without lying - just plain stupid.

No, people do not want to see the dead. They do not want to see bodies ripped in half, crying widows and parents, exploding heads and red mist. They know it's there, somewhere in the back of their consciousness, but they do not wish for it to be dragged out into the open.

And if you want to have support for your war, you don't do the dragging.

The U.S. is a democratic republic. You need an informed populace for the democratic part. Lying to your people is a dic(k)tator move, especially in a supposedly free country.