No. The BBC overshadows US Memorial Day.
They just had to do it. On the day America remembers its war dead the BBC use the opportunity to attack Bush. Just when you think the BBC can not get any lower.
President Bush has paid tribute to US soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in a speech to mark Memorial Day, when America remembers its war dead.
He was speaking at Arlington National Cemetery, where he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Mr Bush praised the "fierce courage" of the soldiers involved in the US-led "war on terror", who he said had made America safer and freed millions.
Mr Bush has been criticised for not attending any funerals of the war dead.
Criticised by whom? The anti-war movement, the left, the New York Times and the BBC.
Presidents do not normally attend the funerals of fallen members of the military. I cannot speak for them but I can think of many good reasons for them not to.
For example:
Which Soldier, Sailor, Marine or Airmen's funeral should he attend? Some of them or all of them?
Does he go to the ones that were killed in battle and or the ones killed in accidents unconnected to battle? Their loss is no less meaningful.
The media would turn a family's moment of grief into a circus.
I'm sure there are many other good reasons but that is enough for me.
So, how have other modern day presidents handled the situation?
From History News Network
Lyndon Baines Johnson
According to the Johnson Library, LBJ attended two funerals for soldiers who died during the Vietnam War. The first funeral was for Captain Albert Smith, son of White House correspondent Merriman Smith, which was held February 28, 1966. The second was for Major General Keith R. Ware, held September 17, 1968. LBJ had met Ware while visiting Vietnam.
So, LBJ two funerals out of 55,000 and he knew the two men or their families personally.
Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon does not appear to have attended the funerals of any soldiers killed in Vietnam. He did award posthumous medals of honor to the families of several soldiers on 22 April 1971 and on several other occasions. On Veterans day in 1971 he visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery. In 1973 he met with the family of Colonel William Nolde after the colonel was buried in Arlington Cemetery. Colonel Nolde was killed on January 27th, the night before the cease-fire went into effect.
Nixon attended zero of 55,000 funerals. He visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as Bush did today.
Jimmy Carter
According to the New York Times, Jimmy Carter attended a memorial service for the soldiers killed in the failed rescue of America hostages in Iran in 1980.
Carter, memorial service but no funerals.
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan attended memorial services on several occasions for American soldiers. In 1983 he attended a service at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in connection with the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, which cost the lives of 241 people. In 1987 he attended a service at Mayport Naval Station in Florida for the sailors killed on the USS Stark.
Regan, memorial services but no funerals.
George H.W. Bush
President George Herbert Walker Bush does not appear to have attended any funerals for American soldiers. (The NYT, citing Marlin Fitzwater as a source, indicated that the president did attend several such funerals. But no details were provided.)
George Bush Sr., no funerals of record. Maybe that is how they do it; in private.
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton attended a service in October 2000 in memory of the 17 sailors killed in the attack on the USS Cole.
After the terrorist bombing the Murrah building in downtown Oklahoma City he publicly grieved with the families of the victims at an event that was regarded at the time as a turning point in his presidency.
Like many other presidents he visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Clinton, no funerals but a publicity stunt.
And how does the BBC end their "shadow" over our remembrance day? With this stunning insensitivity and ignorance.
President Bush is due to visit Italy in a few days' time.
Italian peace activists are threatening anti-war demonstrations over Iraq.
Our Rome correspondent David Willey says 60 years on, some Italians are asking whether America's armed forces should still be classified as liberators.
So, Willey, "some Italians" is it? Would they happen to be the anti-war activists?
The BBC are a public disgrace.
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8 comments:
Er, it's the BBC.....BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation. Why should they temper their coverage to spare the sensibilities of Americans? They are reporting for a British audience. The British pay for the BBC not Americans. If you don't like it don't read it.
Er, unfortunately the Americans living here also have to pay for, "Er it's" The Baghdad Broadcasting Company.
I read it to expose nonsense like this artilce.
They are on the World Wide Web and Sky so they are not just "reporting for a British audience."
And they weren't "covering" anything. They used Bush's memorial to fallen US troops to attack him.
If you don't like my blog don't read it. But as a defender of the Baghdad Broadcasting Company you probably should. And read Biased BBC while you are at it. The link is on the left - under BBC Unspun.
Thanks for your comments.
The Main BBC news finally says that the Brit murdered in Saudi yesterday was dragged through the streets afterwards behind a car. Yet the website STILL does not mention this; worried that people might realise what a bunch of savages these 'militants' are?
There will be a time when the BBC will cut its own throat and people will finally realise that the licence fee is just another subsidy for liberals who cannot be bothered to tell the truth. I find more truth in reading blogs such as this and those that give me views from all sides of the argument than I ever get from watching the BBC or using its website.
As a Brit who served in war alongside the US (Gulf 91) I cringe when the BBC constantly attacks the Americans. Even Matt Frei could not miss a chance to whine about the country in which he is a GUEST when he was talking about his daughter and her reactions to the cicadas for goodness sake! Truely pathetic.
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