Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2008/07/26
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]When a journalist embeds with the US military, they are subject, however loosely, to the chain of command for final release authority. They know this. Breach of this agreement is a breach of contract and that's that. Anyone who thinks that embedding with the military is a blank check is an idiot and irresponsible. I love freedom of speech and freedom of press. The problem with this is that in a combat zone there is no such thing. It's not the United States. Iraq is a sovereign nation and our Bill of Rights does not apply there. Sad, but also true. It's true outside of our borders in every place on earth actually, many Americans forget that. When I have been photographing in every other country except Iraq, I was extremely aware that I was subject to their laws and customs. As I was a military photojournalist in Iraq I DID have that blank check, but I also had to answer to my COC for publication. Not to worry because four years after I took the photos, the people are still dead, the horror has not changed and the impact is still there. No security risk now and I can publish whatever I like. Phil