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TechnoratiSAN FRANCISCO - U.S. journalist Zoriah Miller says he was censored by the U.S. military in the Iraqi city of Fallujah after photographing Marines who died in a suicide bombing.
On Jun. 26, a suicide bomber attacked a city council meeting in Fallujah, 69 kms west of Baghdad, between local tribal sheikhs and military officials.
Three Marines, Cpl. Marcus Preudhomme, Capt. Philip Dykeman, and Lt. Col. Max Galeai, were assigned to 2d Battalion, 3d Marines, 3rd Marine Division, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
The explosion also killed two interpreters and 20 Iraqis, including the mayor of the nearby town of Karmah, two prominent sheikhs and their sons, and another sheikh and his brother. All were members of the local "awakening council," one of the U.S.-backed militias that have taken up arms against al Qaeda in Iraq, according to U.S. and Iraqi authorities.
Miller was embedded with Marines on a patrol one block from the attack when it occurred. He had originally turned down the option of going to report on the city council meeting that was bombed.
Miller ran with the Marines he was with to the scene of the attack. "As I ran I saw human pieces...a skull cap with hair, bone shards," he told IPS during a telephone interview from the so-called Green Zone in Baghdad. "When we arrived at the building it was chaotic. There were Iraqis, police and civilians running around screaming. Bodies were being pulled out of the building."
"I went in and there were over 20 people's remains all over the place," Miller continued, "Of the Marines I jogged in with, someone started to vomit. Others were standing around, not knowing what to do. It was completely surreal."
"At that moment I realised this was far beyond anything I'd experienced, and I realised I wanted to focus and make sure I could capture what it felt like, and the visual horror," Miller explained.
"I thought, 'Nobody in the U.S. has any idea what it means when they hear that 20 people died in a suicide bombing.' I want people to be able to associate those numbers with the scene and the actual loss of human life. And to show why soldiers are suffering from PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder]," Miller told IPS.
Miller was taken out of the building by Marines, but then allowed back inside where he took one last photo of the carnage before they closed the scene to him.
"We spent most of the rest of the day as Marines picked up body parts and put them in buckets and bags," he said.
In an Iraqi Police station in Karmah, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) was brought in to investigate the bombing. Millers' photos were the only ones of the scene, so the NCIS team asked for them.
"I made them copies, but then one of the Marines came in and told me to delete my memory card after I give them the photos, and I refused," Miller told IPS, "I told the NCIS that if they forced me to delete them, I would stop sharing them. So they stopped pressing that issue."
Miller said that he was following the rules for embedded journalists. "That evening, during the debriefing, the guys [Marines] I was with told me that the higher-ups had said I was a stand-up guy and behaved well and to treat me well. The guys I was with were all very much on my side."
Miller explained to IPS that he meticulously showed his photos to the Marines he was with to make sure he was not going to show any photos that would upset the family members of the deceased Marines. "They were all okay with them, so then about 96 hours after the bombing I published the photos on my blog."
Then things got interesting.
"Tuesday [Jul. 1] I awoke to a call in their combat operations centre, and the person on the phone told me they were a PAO (Public Affairs Officer) at Camp Fallujah, and he wanted me to take my blog down right away," Miller told IPS. "I asked them why, and was told then called back after five minutes by a higher ranking PAO who claimed I had broken my contract by showing photos of dead Americans with U.S. uniforms and boots."
Miller said the PAO claimed he was not allowed, by the embed contract, to show dead or wounded U.S. citizens or soldiers in the field. "I never signed any contract for that," Miller said.
He was called back after another five minutes and told his embed was terminated and they would send him back to Baghdad on the next flight. He was then taken back to Camp Fallujah where he said, "Everyone was extremely angry and fired up at me."
Nevertheless, the lower ranking Marines he had embedded with "were on my side, and they told me they thought that what was happening was wrong."
Miller explained that he grew nervous when the flight was cancelled due to a sandstorm, and then a security guard was assigned to him.
"I started to feel uncomfortable with this," Miller explained. "The next day, Gen. Kelly, [Major General John Kelly, who is the Commanding General of the I Marine Expeditionary Force] wanted to have some words with me. I was to meet with him at 3 pm, and we sat outside in the sun for two hours and he never showed."
Miller was told he would be flown out that night, but he was deleted from the flight and told that General Kelly wanted to see him, so he waited again until Thursday, Jul. 3. Again the general did not appear, so Miller was given an official letter about the grounds for the termination of his embed, signed by Gen. Kelly, and flown to Baghdad.
"Now, as I think about it, I think they needed the extra time to figure out what they were going to say about my dismissal," Miller said. "Their original reason ended up being bogus, so they had to figure something else out."
The letter he was given stated reasons for his dismissal as "you photographed the remains of U.S. soldiers", "you posted these images along with detailed commentary", and "by posting the images and your commentary you violated 14 H and O of the news media agreement you signed".
In addition, the letter, which Miller read to IPS, stated, "By providing detailed information of the effectiveness of the attack and the response of U.S. forces to it, you have put all U.S. forces in Iraq at greater risk for harm."
Miller feels the reason for his dismissal is otherwise.
"The bottom line is that the thing they cited as the reason for my dismissal was 'information the enemy could use against you'. They realised, probably from keeping track of my blog, that I was not showing identifiable features of a soldier...and they couldn't find a reason to kick me out. Because it was a high ranking person who got killed, they were all fired up."
Miller concluded, "Up to that point they said it was because I showed pictures of bodies with pieces of uniform and boots. The letter, though, doesn't mention that at all. I checked the document I had about ground rules for media embeds, and I followed them."
The Pentagon would not comment on the story when contacted by IPS, saying they had no information on Miller's case beyond what Central Command had already posted.
© 2008 Inter Press Service
31 Comments so far
Show AllThanks for your comments Mike Corbeil,
Photojournalist Zoriah Miller just did an interview on Democracy Now on July 14th. You can see it, hear it, and/or read the transcript.
I think it is quite good. What a courageous journalist he is.
Here is the link:
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/14/embedded_photojournalist_accuses_u...
"Earthian July 4th, 2008 5:24 pm
Zoriah Miller is the photographer described in the story and whose words I posted from his blog. ...
Responding to:
>>Richard Paine July 4th, 2008 4:02 pm
Thank you Earthian and Zoriah for the courage and “gutsâ€. (yes, double entendre is meant) >>"
Yes Earthian, and like Richard Paine said, thanks for the link. I read a few of the articles at Zoriah's blog and find these certainly interesting. I appreciate his tone, or his manner of explaining what his real purpose as a war-time journalist is; can't find, so far anyway, anything I disagree with him about.
So, yes, thanks for the link. And how or why is it that R. Paine was the only other sane person to post in this page?! Seems most people who use CD just want to read their own words, but it's pointless to commit them to writing like this, given we already know what we think.
When I saw those photos, it took all of my will not to invoke the Morrigan (Celtic Goddess of war and destruction) against those who lied us into that war. Unfortunately, war and destruction would be visited upon us, as may happen anyway, but it won't be by my request. Instead, I'll use my anger for peace. But, boy, did I come close. People are getting that angry. I hope those who do will move toward peace instead of violent retaliation. And, yes, jcrumb, I agree and beg forgiveness for my small contribution (via taxes on my meager income)to the atrocity that is called war.
Zoriah Miller: Good for you. Don't stop. We need to see this.
TOO ALL WHO VIEWED THE PICS..THE HORROR..THE HORROR...AND...YOU...PAID...FOR....THAT...AND YOU CONTINUE TO PAY FOR IT...YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK..STOP PAYING..THIS IS ON YOUR HEAD..UNTIL YOU DENY THE FINANCING NECESSARY TO COMMIT THESE ACTIONS AND THESE REALITIES..YOU ARE COMPLICIT...STOP BEING AFRAID OF THE FEDEARL LOYALIST IRS..AND DO NOT DECLARE...OR HOLD YOUR TONGUES..YOU CANNOT SAY YOU ARE AGAINST THIS AN THEN PAY FOR IT..THAT IS CALLED:
HYPOCRISY..LOOK IT UP!
Hey, what's so wrong with a few Ameircan soldiers getting blown up if it means that a few rich Americans can drive their gas guzzling hummers for a few extra years courtesy of stolen iraqi gasoline. Add to that the Cheney friends who are filling their pockets with cash courtesy of the suckered American taxpayers. The market rules, right, georgie?? God bless Amerika!!!!!!
The purpose of suppressing news and photos is to make the occupation seem less real than a video game.
Why not print these pictures and post them in your laundry room? Send them to your Senators and Congresspeople? With an explanatory letter about the journalist. Send it by snail mail so somebody has to open the envelope and hold the pictures in their hands. Ask them to do something.
Include a few extras for Laura Bush, McCain, Obama, Pelosi or whoever you wish. That is just to interrupt their day.
Sue the bastards. Our constitution forbids this.
Of the letter: “By providing detailed information of the effectiveness of the attack and the response of U.S. forces to it, you have put all U.S. forces in Iraq at greater risk for harm†The enemy very likely would've known within a very short period as to the effectiveness of the bombing they caused and how we responded to it without Miller's post - they keep tabs on how well they do, I'm sure. And the part about Miller's post affecting ALL US forces in Iraq at greater risk...of this that was presented in this article, I don't see it, not on that grand scale.
I had to minimize this window, I got frightened. A young man, young no more, CaseyJPorter, he is from ivaw.org and posts his stuff from Baghdad on YouTube, does other things with it, too. I wanted to see if there was anything new, I never knew how they allowed him back over to do this. Last thing, I think it was Falluja, was 2 months ago, the most recent has his stuff intermixed with a soldier from Ft. Hood telling his story but from the US. Wonder if they shut him down too.
"They hate us for our freedom!" Who did I hear say that? Ahh, isn't freedom of the press wonderful? Seems to me the wrong man was hanged in Iraq.
Freedom of the press. Freedom of assembly. It is all written on a goddamn piece of paper according to Bu$h the inferior. It looks like he may be right about that. Well it is a matter of chance - even he had to get something right. I think journalists should ALL have refused to be embedded and refused to cover press conferences and government press releases. The kind of reports we get from the press used to be released from the propaganda minister in the 3rd Reich.
Journalism died the day it sought all this special 'access'. Notice how the whole thing is a sick club. Karl Rove is not an aberration, his kind may someday be referred to as the good old days like people look back on the Reagan era as good old days.
To illustrate my comment “if he was Iraqi!†I suggest you read the story of Bilal Hussein an Iraqi photographer with AP imprisoned for two years.
http://www.ap.org/bilalhussein/
Just think for a minute what would have happened if this disobedient journalist was an Iraqi and not an American, then tell me who is being liberated by whom.
The truth is the first casualty of war.
THE PRECEDING BLOGGERS HAVE BEEN MORE ELOQUENT THAN I COULD HOPE TO BE. MY CONTRIBUTION IS A DEEP DESIRE FOR JUSTICE, ONE DAY, BE VISITED UPON THOSE IN OUR GOVERNMENT WHO HAVE BROUGHT SHAME UPON THIS NATION.
And Bush is out there at Monticello waving his arms and saying, "This country believes in freedom of speech."
Wha6 a blanking hypocrite!
"Amused July 4th, 2008 2:00 pm
...
I can’t see anything this administration does as anything other than propaganda."
That's just a part of the whole problem, and not the worst part; although, still bad, sickening, and criminal. If it was only propaganda, then we would not have a destroyed Iraq, millions of killed and forced refugees, besides around 8mn others suffering from no potable, safe drinking water, lack of food, lack of sewer sanitation, and so on; and all of a population of around 24-26mn to start with, before being diminished by some millions. That's OVER 33% of the population of Iraq, and a very conservative figure.
Them and U.S. soldiers being killed, and many others suffering severe PTSD, depression, and so on, besides serious physical injuries, now this all seems like much more than only propaganda to me.
The trashing, pissing and shitting on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, and the ratified INTL laws, conventions, ... which are supreme law of the land in the USA, for anyone who follows the Constitution, and all others are traitors; well, this is all more than only propaganda to me.
IMHO
Zoriah Miller is the photographer described in the story and whose words I posted from his blog. Zoriah has the courage and guts, not me. I, Earthian, am just a blogger/poster here.
Responding to:
>>Richard Paine July 4th, 2008 4:02 pm
Thank you Earthian and Zoriah for the courage and “gutsâ€. (yes, double entendre is meant) >>
The U.S. War of Terror everywhere in the world is an abomination against humanity, freedom, democracy, the international rule of law, common decency, morality and anything else one can attempt to say about what the U.S. is doing in the Middle East in particular and the world in general.
The press is completely bought out or we would have been seeing the kinds of images that Miller captured from the first days of the United States illegal war and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Tragically all the propaganda, misinformation, disinformation by the U.S. about its heinous activities has set the bar of morality and ethics so low in the world that every petty dictator and banan a republic can now commit its own War of Terror againstd whomever without fear of serious reprisal. Hence we have the Mugabe's of the world who literally can get away with mass murder, all thanks to the Bush Administration and their military,corporate, media henchman.
Oh, bhy the way, Happy Fourth of July and all the memories of the United States earlier War's of Terror against humanity.
The U.S. War of Terror everywhere in the world is an abomination against humanity, freedom, democracy, the international rule of law, common decency, morality and anything else one can attempt to say about what the U.S. is doing in the Middle East in particular and the world in general.
The press is completely bought out or we would have been seeing the kinds of images that Miller captured from the first days of the United States illegal war and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Tragically all the propaganda, misinformation, disinformation by the U.S. about its heinous activities has set the bar of morality and ethics so low in the world that every petty dictator and banan a republic can now commit its own War of Terror againstd whomever without fear of serious reprisal. Hence we have the Mugabe's of the world who literally can get away with mass murder, all thanks to the Bush Administration and their military,corporate, media henchman.
Oh, bhy the way, Happy Fourth of July and all the memories of the United States earlier War's of Terror against humanity.
The Truth? The American people can't handle the Truth.
That is truly what the corrupt ruling junta of this country and the MIC warmachine managers think of the American citizenry, in their self-evident vitriolic hatred and contempt of the uncontrolled 'Free Press' that is enshrined in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. If this junta had had their way, there would have been no Constitution, no Declaration of Independence, and certainly no Bill of Rights. As Bush/Cheney have made plain, to them, the Constitution is just a goddamned scrap of paper, a 'quaint' relic that should be abolished in this modern era.
What sad days for America.
This junta believes that, if people knew what was happening, then the war would be "lost"... even though the Iraq battle is not now and never was, a 'declared war', Iraq did not attack the US to start this 'battle', and that Iraq is really now in an American Occupation... only for oil. Oh, and with the added benefit of the pre-emptive squashing of presumed foes of what is apparently the fifty-first state, Israel.
And the Bushites and the WarMachiners really care neither for the American people nor the Iraqui people. Their only concern is Global power... hence the GWOT, which could be more rightly called the GWOP-the Global War Over Power, or the GWOR-the Global War Over Resources.
Besides, what is it with this football-game-like sports talk about 'winning' and 'losing'? Does America go home after we gain enough 'points' to 'win' the 'game'? I thought this Iraq thing was all about 'freeing' Iraquis, about them, and not about the US 'winning' something. What does that mean?
The propagandistic use of the sports term 'winning' means exactly the same as it does in the Global War On "Terror". And that is, it means any damn thing the Bush Junta wants it to mean. Goebbels and Orwell must be having a sardonic laugh at our expense right about now, one in heaven the other in hell.
So, exactly like the populace of Hitler's Germany, we are given half-truths and rah-rah, while the real truths are suppressed. The common people around the concentration camps had 'no idea' what was going on around them. And the commonfolk of Germany were dumbfounded that the war went on and on after the fall-of-Paris/end-of-war victory celebration. And they were truly astonished when their cities were finally destroyed utterly. This was not what they were led to believe would happen by their trusted, experienced 'Leaders'.
This strangulation of truth is necessary for the Bush Junta so that, just like the Germans around the concentration camps, the American people are 'Led to believe' something that is not the truth, and can be Led by lies and obfuscation, even in today's so-called 'modern world'.
But the appreciation of a grateful nation must be given to Zoriah Miller and the truth-seekers that struggle on, despite every obstacle to truth-telling thrown in their way.
The far easier path is taken by most of the MSM, corrupted by money and access to power, afraid to lose their livlihoods, or even perhaps their very lives, by exposing the lies and distortions or revealing the truth. As well, the MSM journos seem to have a bad case of Stockholm Syndrome, in that the richest and most-known of them now identify with, and sympathize with, their own captors, the Masters who hold 'career' power over them... as they must, or they are eliminated (see, for one example, Phil Donahue).
The corrupt media playere are easy to spot. They are the talking heads of the media giants, and the loudmouths of radio. They serve the Masters well, and are richly rewarded. They know on what side their bread is buttered. And they do not 'rain on the Bush Junta parade' so, unlike Mr. Miller and others of his caliber, they do not 'get rained on' by the Warmachiners or the Junta of SuperNational Masters of the new FlatWorld.
Please keep on shining your lantern for honesty, Mr. Miller. For all we wanderers in the dark, who are looking for the light.
Alittle late in the game to get queasy.
Who can forget the obscenity of cable news, etc. blaring the photos of Saddam's two sons. Or for that matter, the execution of
Saddam, the sovereign leader of Iraq.
And what about the photos that US soldiers were posting on you tube, etc.? Just our brave american occupiers doing their duty when they prop up dead Iraqis with cigarettes dangling & usa soldiers grinning.
O America, your hypocracy is astounding.
From the beginning of "Shock & Awe" all that the military has done is under a criminal cloud.
And you embedded journalists who went along with the censorship, see what you have sown?
There will be no prize winning photography from this malfortunate misadventure into cruelty & theft & subjugation, at least not on my nation's side.
Unless there is a new catagory for such as Abu Ghraib -- and there are many, many photos and recordings that have never been released (reported by Seymour Hersch) that are uglier than what we have been shown.
Freedom of press is passe, slowly suffocated since the days of Ron Reagan.
I don't believe there is a gasp left.
Thank you Earthian and Zoriah for the courage and "guts". (yes, double entendre is meant) For if this administration has learned anything from the past, which I'll admit isn't much, they know better than to allow the populace to see the everyday mayhem in either Iraq or Afghanistan.
Who makes such rules? And in whose name, We the People? And yes, Heaven forbid that we should have to see such things, which might draw up memories buried, yet not fully forgotten. Or, that in seeing such, we might better understand that Human Beings, no matter their age or ethnicity, upon experiencing such in the 3-D realitiy of such a life, may become imprinted with these memories for the rest of their lives. I don't believe that "Thanks for the Memories" which Bob Hope used as a theme song and used to entertain the troops with......had such in mind.
I have heard a little that on September 11th of this year "We the People" may be gathering around this country, maybe time to stand up for a few rules of our own like, for example that Ole' piece of paper
THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
or have we become embedded and signed away our rights and freedoms too?
The soldiers who return from any war come back broken in mind and spirit, not to say in body. The rest of us are ok. We are ok because we still believe the lie that they have discovered.
Maybe they are the ones who are ok and we are the German people who are watching the cattle cars relocating the Jews, Gays, Gypsies,(ie Vietnamese, Iraqis, 18 year old US citizens with few other options).
The state lies "'I, the state, AM the people' It is a lie. Whatever it says it lies. Whatever it has it has stolen."---Nietzsche
Good heavens, we must not see pictures of dead servicemen killed in combat. We are children, we would not understand, we are Americans and a majority of Americans really don't want to know the truths.
Well personally, I want to know the truths and as usual, truths are being hidden from us and it all goes straight back to ~Nancy Pelosi~. She had and still has the power to end the madness.
The above text excerpts from Miller's blog don't have the pictures that accompany them. To see those, go to his blog directly.
Here are the two latest commentaries from Zoriah Miller:
About five minutes ago:
http://www.zoriah.net/blog/2008/07/happy-fourth-of.html
July 04, 2008
Happy Fourth of July - Update on Zoriah's Situation
I would like to wish a Happy Fourth of July to all of the Marines, soldiers, and military personnel who struggle to survive and bring order in a chaotic situation in Iraq.
On this American Indepedance Day, my heartfelt goodwill extends to their families back home, and to the Iraqi’s and Afghans who live day in and day out in a climate of uncertainty and fear.
May all of you find peace and unity and return to your lives, families, and children safe and unharmed.
I have been banned from documenting the conflict in Fallujah and Anbar Province by the U.S. Marine Corps. Today, I wait in Baghdad's Green Zone to find out if I will blacklisted completely and forced to leave Iraq.
I stand firm in the belief that I have been unjustly censored by the U.S. Military for reporting strictly under the guidelines given to me.
To all of the U.S. Marines and their families who have emailed me and voiced their support of the post and of the issue as a whole I want to extend a special thank you.
And yesterday:
http://www.zoriah.net/blog/2008/07/zoriah-embed-te.html
July 03, 2008
Zoriah: Embed Termination - Statement About My Situation in Iraq
A few hours after posting my story on the suicide bombing in Anbar Province, I was woken up by a young marine who took me to receive a phone call. A high ranking Public Affairs Officer told me that they were requesting that I remove my blog post immediately. I asked on what grounds, as media rules state that wounded and killed soldiers may be portrayed in images as long as their name tags and identifiable features are not shown. I made very sure my images followed those guidelines, and questioned a large number of soldiers on base to see if they could find anything at all that would identify the dead. I did this primarily out of respect for the families.
After the post was online, I was told that the Marine Corps would not allow even the pants or shoes of a injured or killed Marine to be depicted in images. This was a rule I had never been told or even heard of. I refused to remove the blog post. It seemed insane to me that the Marines would embed a war photographer and then be upset when photographs were taken of war.
A few minutes later my embed was terminated and a convoy was arranged, despite a fierce sand storm, to bring me to Camp Fallujah where I would wait for the first flight out of the Marines area of operation and into the Green Zone.
I still wait for my flight out one day later. Apparently they fear that someone is angry enough to do me harm, as I now must go to the chow hall with two armed escorts. However, I have had five or more Marines approach me on base and tell me that the images were the best and most powerful, real photographs of war they had ever seen, and that they supported my choices 100%.
I truly labored with the decision to post these images and I still do. But in my heart of hearts I know that people need to see and feel the reality of this horrible situation. How can things change if all that comes out of Iraq are sanitized, white-washed images of war designed for mainstream media outlets who focus on making money, not on the quality and truth in what they report?
To the families of the Marines, the interpreters, the Iraqi police, and the civilians killed in the attack: you have my deepest condolences. These men were attending a city council meeting and working together to better their community. Something terrible happened to them when they were in the midst of doing a good thing.
I have done everything I can to post images of Marines that are not in any way identifiable. I photographed to the best of my ability -- hoping to capture images that speak the truth yet capture the horror and senselessness of these kinds of attacks in a dignified, emotional, and artistic way. I have made sure there are ample warnings that the post is very graphic and very disturbing. I put it on a separate page that contains even more warnings and buffer text and images before the graphic content is displayed to avoid anyone stumbling on it by accident.
If despite my safeguards these images end up hurting people, I offer you my sincerest apologies. Please know that my intent is to show the true nature of the abominations of war in hopes that this will deter others from committing or accepting senseless acts of violence.
© Zoriah/www.zoriah.com : blog use permitted
(Why can't I get George Orwell out of my mind?) When the occupiers leave Iraq, they could lift a lot of their constitution from ours - a lot of the wording could be identical, though ours talked about a different King George ...
Thanks for that link, Earthian. The pictures are reminiscent of Matthew Brady’s Civil War photos. Graphic images of reality. The American public was revolted back in the 1860’s as it would be now but the outcry may help bring about a swifter end to this madness. Of course we’ll never know as the doe-eyed media reports on other aspects of the reality being played out in a strange and faraway land that affects only those families and communities involved. Others simply look the other way and it’s made easier by the suppressing of those photos in question.
I can’t see anything this administration does as anything other than propaganda.
"Obedience to the law is freedom" Sign over an US Army Stockade during the Vietnam occupation.
DARPA
Scientia est potentia
Information Awareness Office
Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.