The boxes, they keep comin'...
The White-Wash House would like to have
us believe that the administration is concerned for the privacy of families of
fallen ones in Iraq in prohibiting photos of their coffins...
This last Friday from Bill Carter of the NY Times
(http://nytimes.com/2004/04/23/national/23PHOT.html):
"The Pentagon's ban on making images of dead soldiers' homecomings at military bases public was briefly relaxed yesterday, as hundreds of photographs of flag-draped coffins at Dover Air Force Base were released on the Internet by a Web site dedicated to combating government secrecy."
There appears to be an implicit suggestion here that the Administration consented to the release of the photos, when in fact it is (by now) common knowledge that the photos were released under the Freedom of Information Act. The FOIA applies only to federal agencies, each of which maintains its own oversight of the act; in this particular case it is the Air Force (http://www.foia.af.mil/). (My efforts to access this site have been unsuccessful, presumably because of server overload.)
The Department of Defense publishes its "guidance on the implemenation" of the FOIA online:
http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/54007r_0998/p54007r.pdf
This document, dated September 4, 1998, outlines the applicable rules for compliance with the FOIA. In its opening clauses:
"The public has a right to information concerning the activities of its Government. DoD policy is to conduct its activities in an open manner and provide the public with a maximum amount of accurate and timely information concerning its activities, consistent always with the legitimate public and private interests of the American people." Public interest is defined as "the interest in obtaining official information that sheds light on an Agency's performance of its statutory duties because the information falls within the statutory purpose of the FOIA to inform citizens about what their Government is doing."
The ban on publication of these photos (dating to 2000) seems to be in clear contravention of this policy. In fact, the guidelines encourage proactive efforts to support media and individual requests for information to preclude invocation of the FOIA. It is instructive to observe that invocation of the FOIA was, in fact, required to gain the release of the images.
"Prompt responses to requests for information from news media representatives should be encouraged to eliminate the need for these requesters to invoke the provisions of the FOIA and thereby assist in providing timely information to the public. Similarly, requests from other members of the public for information that would not be withheld under the FOIA should continue to be honored through appropriate means without requiring the requester to invoke the FOIA."
Exemptions to the FOIA are clearly spelled out and include "those properly and currently classified in the interest of national defense or foreign policy, as specifically authorized under the criteria established by Executive Order and implemented by regulations," "those related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices" of the DoD, information that is prohibited from release by statute, such as patent secrecy, intelligence, nuclear data, and law enforcement processes. Certainly, personal information is protected from disclosure, and it might be argued that if the inhabitants of the coffins were identifiable, this might constitute an exemptible condition. This is, of course, not the case.
Clearly, the Air Force acted responsibly and appropriately in the release of the photos pursuant to a legitimate FOIA request. To suggest that DoD rules were "briefly relaxed" is disingenuous at best, although I'm curious as to whether Mr. Carter dreamed that up himself or picked up some Pentagon spin along the way.
* * * * * * *
The Air Force FOIA contact is:
John Espinal
11 CS/SCS (FOIA)
1000 Air Force Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20330-1000
telephone number: (703) 696-7263
fax number: (703) 696-7273
e-mail address: foia@bolling.af.mil
FOIA and the Privacy Act:
C1.5.13.1. If the record is required to be released under the FOIA, the Privacy Act does not bar its disclosure. Unlike the FOIA, the Privacy Act applies only to U.S. citizens and aliens admitted for permanent residence.
"The Pentagon's ban on making images of dead soldiers' homecomings at military bases public was briefly relaxed yesterday, as hundreds of photographs of flag-draped coffins at Dover Air Force Base were released on the Internet by a Web site dedicated to combating government secrecy."
There appears to be an implicit suggestion here that the Administration consented to the release of the photos, when in fact it is (by now) common knowledge that the photos were released under the Freedom of Information Act. The FOIA applies only to federal agencies, each of which maintains its own oversight of the act; in this particular case it is the Air Force (http://www.foia.af.mil/). (My efforts to access this site have been unsuccessful, presumably because of server overload.)
The Department of Defense publishes its "guidance on the implemenation" of the FOIA online:
http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/54007r_0998/p54007r.pdf
This document, dated September 4, 1998, outlines the applicable rules for compliance with the FOIA. In its opening clauses:
"The public has a right to information concerning the activities of its Government. DoD policy is to conduct its activities in an open manner and provide the public with a maximum amount of accurate and timely information concerning its activities, consistent always with the legitimate public and private interests of the American people." Public interest is defined as "the interest in obtaining official information that sheds light on an Agency's performance of its statutory duties because the information falls within the statutory purpose of the FOIA to inform citizens about what their Government is doing."
The ban on publication of these photos (dating to 2000) seems to be in clear contravention of this policy. In fact, the guidelines encourage proactive efforts to support media and individual requests for information to preclude invocation of the FOIA. It is instructive to observe that invocation of the FOIA was, in fact, required to gain the release of the images.
"Prompt responses to requests for information from news media representatives should be encouraged to eliminate the need for these requesters to invoke the provisions of the FOIA and thereby assist in providing timely information to the public. Similarly, requests from other members of the public for information that would not be withheld under the FOIA should continue to be honored through appropriate means without requiring the requester to invoke the FOIA."
Exemptions to the FOIA are clearly spelled out and include "those properly and currently classified in the interest of national defense or foreign policy, as specifically authorized under the criteria established by Executive Order and implemented by regulations," "those related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices" of the DoD, information that is prohibited from release by statute, such as patent secrecy, intelligence, nuclear data, and law enforcement processes. Certainly, personal information is protected from disclosure, and it might be argued that if the inhabitants of the coffins were identifiable, this might constitute an exemptible condition. This is, of course, not the case.
Clearly, the Air Force acted responsibly and appropriately in the release of the photos pursuant to a legitimate FOIA request. To suggest that DoD rules were "briefly relaxed" is disingenuous at best, although I'm curious as to whether Mr. Carter dreamed that up himself or picked up some Pentagon spin along the way.
* * * * * * *
The Air Force FOIA contact is:
John Espinal
11 CS/SCS (FOIA)
1000 Air Force Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20330-1000
telephone number: (703) 696-7263
fax number: (703) 696-7273
e-mail address: foia@bolling.af.mil
FOIA and the Privacy Act:
C1.5.13.1. If the record is required to be released under the FOIA, the Privacy Act does not bar its disclosure. Unlike the FOIA, the Privacy Act applies only to U.S. citizens and aliens admitted for permanent residence.
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Published On: Apr 27, 2004 04:56 PM
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Published On: Apr 27, 2004 04:56 PM