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NEWS FROM CNN

Interview With Bryan Whitman

Aired November 14, 2003 - 12:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Dead American soldiers returning home from war in flagged-draped coffins. It's an emotional, painful scene that you are not seeing in the latest conflict in Iraq. That's because the Pentagon bars the media from recording the return of American troops killed in action.
It's a policy that angers some critics. They charge the administration is trying to soft-pedal the realities of war.

Joining us now to explain the policy and answer some of these critics is Bryan Whitman, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Public Affairs. Bryan, thanks very much for joining us. This is a policy, just to be honest with our viewers, that goes back a long time.

BRYAN WHITMAN, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: That's correct, Wolf. This a policy that's over a decade old. It's a policy that has been the policy of several administrations. And it is not new.

BLITZER: I remember you and I were there together in the Pentagon in those days just before the first Gulf War, more than a dozen years ago. At that time, the defense secretary was Dick Cheney. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs was Colin Powell. At that time, they decided that there would be no coverage, no cameras at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware bringing coffins home.

There was deep concern at that time that those images could undermine morale on the home front. Isn't that right?

WHITMAN: Well, I don't think that's the real reason. The underlying reason is, you know, there is nothing more important that this nation can do than to honor its war dead, to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms that we enjoy. Over time, though, we have determined that the most appropriate place to render those kind of honors is at the graveside. And at the graveside, because that is where family and friends, that is where members of the unit, and that's where the news media can gather together to honor these great American heroes.

BLITZER: Well, what would be the downside of just letting camera crews in at Dover just to see these coffins arrive from those giant transport planes and go on, on the tarmac, and record those pictures? Would family members, do you believe, be upset about that?

WHITMAN: Well, I think there are a couple of things to consider in that. First of all, the mission at Dover is a mission in which the court mortuary there has the mission to identify remains, conduct any forensic activities that need to be conducted, and then prepare the remains and move them as quickly to the loved ones. It is a function that is clinical rather than ceremonial in function.

And yes, this is a policy that has been challenged over the years. And the courts have had an opportunity to look at this. And they have cited some important aspects of the policy, when making their ruling and upholding the government's position. And that is, that with respect to the privacy of the families involved, and with respect to not imposing an undue hardship on families that may feel compelled if ceremonies were held to travel great differences and at some financial expense to be able to go and be part of a ceremony that they would feel compelled to be part of.

BLITZER: But no one is suggesting that there would necessarily have to be a ceremony at Dover. There would just be camera crews that would record this.

Let me read one e-mail from Rick in Virginia, who reflects a lot of feelings out there among the public at large, at least according to the e-mail that we're getting. "We've lost 400 young men and women in Iraq, half since the war 'ended' back in May. We are not allowed to see these caskets offloaded at Dover Air Force Base. The result of this kind of thing is a distrust for our government and military by Americans, who the war effects most."

That is a view of Rick's. One thing we should note, Bryan, that at the very tail end of the Clinton administration, the Defense Department moved to expand this ban of coverage of caskets returning not only to Dover, but to all U.S. military facilities around the world. What was the logic behind that?

WHITMAN: Again, the same principles apply. First and foremost, we want to take into account the families. It is the families grieving at this time. And it is looking out for their rights and for their wishes, and for their desires.

And we think that the policy provides the type of balance. I mean, your writer there that wrote in the e-mail is absolutely correct that we need to be able to honor our veterans and those who have fallen in defense of freedom. And we believe the best way to do that though is at the graveside. And again, we do it out of a respect for the family's privacy. And because it's at that point in time in which the proper honors really can be rendered with everybody involved that wants to be involved in terms of the unit, the family, the friends.

BLITZER: We should point out there are exceptions, when the president, when the White House wants Dover Air Force Base open to coverage for the return of caskets, for the return of coffins. That is allowed.

Bryan, I know you have to run. But we appreciate your taking some time with us. Bryan Whitman is the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Public Affairs explaining a complicated but important subject for our viewers.

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