Afghan war photos: social media response

In the wide-ranging discussion about The Times front-page story on U.S. soldiers posing with the body parts of Afghan bombers, readers zeroed in on the decision to publish the photos -- and whether publication would help ensure that alleged security shortcomings were not repeated, or whether publication could endanger troops.

As Times Editor Davan Maharaj said in a live online discussion Wednesday: "The two photos published were chosen because they clearly and unambiguously depict conduct that the Army described as inappropriate."

On the question of endangering troops, Maharaj said:

"Our reporter, David Zucchino, and I had numerous discussions with Pentagon, Army and White House officials over the course of several weeks before publishing this story. When we made the decision to publish, the Pentagon asked us to wait 24 additional hours to protect troops depicted in the photographs. We agreed to push back our publication date until the Pentagon told us they had taken the necessary precautions."

 On the decision itself, Maharaj added:

“We've worked very hard to try to be responsible in the way we handled this. We felt that the public had a right to see these photos. " 

Here’s what some readers had to say on Twitter and Facebook:

 

Comments

[Toby3061]

The LA Times no longer belongs to America, it belongs to Mexico. Don't expect them to do anything to help America in any war...

[Nikos Retsos]

First, let me say upfront that I didn't know anything about the pictures published by the Los Angeles until the evening news when CBS News Scot Pelly reported about. Better yet, he said that the CBS called the L.A. Times and asked why they published the pictures - even though the Pentagon had objected. Pelly said that the editors of L.A. Times responded that
(not the exact quotation) they wanted to give their readers all information -unfiltered (my word). I then decided to come to my computer and congratulate the L.A. Editors!

Why congratulate the L.A. editors? Because burying it would have been like an ostrich digging its head in the sand! And if we (in the U.S.) decide that it is unpatriotic to report
news negative to the U.S., and glorify everything the U.S. does as virtuous, we all would live an phony bubble of our rigid imagination, and we wouldn't understand the other people in the world! We would just feel that they are just idiots - of they don't like us, but that would only our fallacy. They wouldn't like us because they would know our real side, and that means our bad side as well, but we wouldn't! And that is what filtering the unsavory for ourselves news would do! We would become Neanderthals by choice, by refusing to hear about that bad behavior of ours that the rest of the world would be talking about!

Those who feel that sweeping our war sins under the rug would make us a better nation are wrong! Wars are not about winning battles only; it is also about winning respect and approval by other nations and the people of the world. And that is not going to come with more Mai Lai masscares, (Vietnam War) Sargent Bailes massacre (Afghanistan) urinating of dead enemies, killing Afghans and cutting and taking their fingers and ears as souvenirs, or proudly shows the body part of our deceased battle opponents! The best way to stop this kind of human degenerating behavior is to bring in out into the public, and shame those who do. If we don't, then we are not better than them!

I bestow my highest respect to the L.A. editors for doing the rights thing at a time that they were told to sweep a shameless story under the dirty rug of patriotism. "Patriotism is that last refuge of the scoundrel." - Samuel Johnson, and "Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious," - Oscar Wilde. I definitely love the "real patriotism" of the L.A. Times editors. Thank you L.A. Times! Nikos Retsos, retired professor

[T-Prop]

So what.

Americans have become hysterics and LA Times exploits it.

[DGreen]

Publishing the pictures was pure sensationalism. This had nothing to do with getting information to the American public. These pictures were old, and this was nothing but a ploy for attention. You guys are no different than the Murdoch's people hacking telephones for a story. You wonder why journalists have such a bad rep? It is because you have no principles, and you show it day af ter day to the world. You don't care who you hurt as long as you sell a story. Those soldiers are putting their lives on the line to protect your right to exploit them. Hope you can sleep at night...oh, yeah, you have no conscience so I am sure you can.