Guys,
I started this thread to discuss photojournalism and censorship in a war zone, not the politics of the Iraq war. And no, they are not the same things in a photography themed forum. If we can't keep politics out, I will close the thread.
Stephen
I started this thread to discuss photojournalism and censorship in a war zone, not the politics of the Iraq war. And no, they are not the same things in a photography themed forum. If we can't keep politics out, I will close the thread.
Stephen
raid
Dad Photographer
Your point is well taken, Stephen. I will stay out of this thread.
More than once I posted reminders about the censorship topic. 
Although I still fail to see evidence of censorship, at least with regards to Mr. Miller. It probably is time to wind this up.
Although I still fail to see evidence of censorship, at least with regards to Mr. Miller. It probably is time to wind this up.M C H
Member
Q1: Yes
Q2: Yes
Q3: It's neither, being closer to 60 (Shia) to 40 (Sunni, including Kurds)
Q4: This is an arguable point, now - not because they had more rights under the Ba'athists (read Halliday) but because rights are still being determined and secured by a democratically elected government
Q5: Which one?
Now a question for you. You've rightly shown the difficulty of illustrating the true conditions of the Iraq war through photography, yet there is far more information about the life of average Iraqis available now than at any point in the last 25 years. Why?
That's a trick question, of course, unfairly designed to illustrate a point that so often gets lost in all the debates about censorship. The point is that Miller's claims notwithstanding, and while I grant that his banishment from the front constitutes censorship, there is very little meaningful censorship being imposed on western media in Iraq. Now.
But this wasn't always the case, and in the past American media giants cooperated with the Ba'athists to gain "access" (such as it was), and in turn printed only the information the Ba'athists allowed. It was, in a very literal sense, propaganda for tyrants.
This is important as we return to the question of the purpose of photography in a place like war-torn Iraq. Many in this thread have suggested access to pictures like those Miller was "de-embedded" for are an important source of information about the "real" Iraq.
But they couldn't be more wrong.
jan normandale
Film is the other way
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