To the editor:

Pictures of identical, flag-draped coffins recently surfaced on the Internet. Bush immediately denounced this, using the sensitivities of soldiers’ families as his excuse. It seems there is policy that prohibits media coverage of human remains. Nowhere in these photos were human remains visible.

My question: Why does Bush consider the sensitivities of military families more sensitive than say, the families of civilian security contractors whose burned corpses, hanging from a bridge were shown in newspapers everywhere? The April 1 edition of the Journal-World features one of the most graphic photos on its front page.

Could it be someone knows that images depicting the growing loss of American soldiers’ lives might draw new criticism of the war in Iraq? Could even more voting Americans start to question the handling of this war?

On the other hand, could graphic images of such brutal disregard incite patriotic rage and fuel the flames of support for this war?

It’s a delicate balancing act this administration is doing its best to perform. But the truth is, these are REAL people, not numbers. Regardless of being military or civilian, the use of their grieving families as a political tool is despicable.

Doris Stine,

Lawrence