Hi, I'm new to the board. I was curious what people thought about ABC's special airing tonight that will show the pictures and recite the names of the fallen soldiers. I just read that one company has ordered it's ABC affiliates not to air the special because it believes ABC is trying to turn people against the war in Iraq. Why shouldn't people be given the chance to see our soldiers and pay our respects to them? It seems people are either for or against this war based on ideology, not the number of deaths it generates. I mean it is a war, there are going to be people killed, everybody already knows that. What are people afraid of?

Bush is afraid there will be something that his attack dogs can't spin into a lie.

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"What does a former president's son know about the Iraq war anyway?"
-- GW Bush when asked about Ron Reagan's negative comments, 6/25/2004.
www.BushZombie.com

Don't bend over in the Neocon's shower .

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"What does a former president's son know about the Iraq war anyway?"
-- GW Bush when asked about Ron Reagan's negative comments, 6/25/2004.
www.BushZombie.com

That sounds like honoring the soliders to me. That's ABC's call though, it would be different if the government told them they couldn't. And if they did I'd be strongly against it.

..have paid the ultimate price in combat.

With the anniversary of "mission accomplished" being tomorrow I can see where some might howl that it is politically motivated, but I think (being the cynic that I am ) that it has a good deal more to do with it being the beginning of sweeps than anything else..

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The last time this country mixed politics with religion, people got burned at the stake.

I can prove to you that its being done for purely "political" reasons. If Koppel were TRULY just honoring the dead soldiers.....he'd also read the names of those who lost their lives in Afghanistan....AND those who have lost their lives in Kosovo recently. But he's NOT. He's ONLY reading the names of those who have died in IRAQ. So....why is that????


And if he TRULY wants to "honor" the military....then why not read the names of all the hundreds thousands of LIVE soldiers representing the U.S. in many venues overseas, as well as in Iraq? After all, they might like to hear that they are appreciated as well.

Plus, he got the idea, he says, from a LIFE piece done in 1969 concerning Viet Nam. So, just like Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd, Koppel is joining in to draw a comparison of Iraq to Vietnam.

And last, Koppel went on AirAmerica today blasting the war. Therefore he is no longer an "objective" anchor.....he's taken a poltical anti-war position on the war.

This is about as "purely political" as it gets.

you don't think they should read them? that we shouldn't all have the opportunity to put faces to the names? that doesn't seem very patriotic. please try to have some respect for those who died for our country. you ought to be ashamed!

From what I gather, this "special airing" is to commerate the fallen in Iraq. So why should they recite the names of soldiers who have fallen in other operations and campaigns? If you want to list all the names of soldiers who have perished in this "war on terrorism" why on Earth did you include Kosovo?
Would you watch for several hours to people reading out the names who are doing fine and AOK? Either way, from what I gather this is done to honor the soliders KIA, how would this honor them? It would only glorify the military institution, a mock military exercise could do the same thing.
Because he was inspired to remember the names of the dead by a prior military fiasco, he therefore must be trying to link to the comparison of that military fiasco to this military fiasco. That fox.
I doubt that really matters to you anyway, the plans must have been "political" from the start. I wonder what this "blasting" means. What would your ideal "special airing" entail, in that case?
Reading the names of the dead is not the only way to remember the dead, I strongly doubt JP5 takes the death of there soldiers in vain. Just because she disagrees with the way it is presented does not make her unpatriotic. I wouldn't be the one to comment on another's patriotism from such an ill informed platform. I remember my country's war dead, but I don't find a recital of the names neccessary, or even commendable for that matter. Does that render me unpatriotic too?

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/ira...es/casualties/

What is political is that certain stations whose executves had decided they want to try to help Bush get re-elected have decided to pre-empt the show. Strange co-incidence that the top executives of that company all gave $2,000 (max contribution) to the Bush campaign but none of them gave to the Kerry campaign.

So now the "pro-war" camp want more national denial. Not only can we not see their coffins returned to America, we can't acknowledge their deaths. In fact they should just probably be buried in the sand in Iraq and forgotten about all together like the pawns that they are being treated like.

So JP5, if your son died in Iraq, would you want him forgotten by everyone and no respects paid. Would you want the country not even reconzing his name, just treating him as a number..death 783. I think THAT is wrong, and that is what you stand for.

I tribute the Iraqi freedom fightes that are fighting against American imperialism.