Not many photos to post, since most of the exhibits -- save the odd helicopter, tank or miscellaneous ordance sitting in the gardens -- were themselves photos. But (if you'll pardon the soapbox for a moment) a single thought.
Most of the exhibitions were photographs, and the museum admirably paid due to the photojournalists who took them, honoring those on all sides who died in the process:
And looking around at their handywork -- generation-defining photos by Larry Burrows, Robert Capa, Henri Huet, et al -- it's hard not to think that at least their work stands as a testament to why they risked their lives. These folks sent home the images that revealed the Vietnam War as it was, gruesome, cruel, and futile, and it profoundly changed American perception of the use of military force (right? Right?). None of this is new, and others have phrased it better.So what I don't get is, journalists are getting scuppered left and right in Iraq right now, but I don't see what's to show for it. We are all aware, vaguely, of the media black hole that is Iraq, but after seeing, again and all at once, images that shook us as a country, it is TOTALLY SCARY that little of the sort is coming out of Iraq. The images that do make us shudder collectively have all eluded censors, to reach us through informal channels: Abu Ghraib, a botched hanging filmed on a cell phone. There are some mitigating circumstances: we have a professional army now, and the force deployed in Iraq is a fraction of the 500,000+ in Vietnam in 1968. But we know from a few reports that we haven't gotten any nicer as an occupying force, and certainly fighting wars hasn't gotten cleaner. This void, of information but especially of images, is a smear against both government officials who want to fight a war without acknowledging the mess it makes and media outlets that refuse to push them for access.
It makes one wish -- I cannot believe I'm writing this -- that Life Magazine were still around.
3 comments:
I am a 2 tour Vietnam Veteran who recently retired after 36 years of working in the Defense Industrial Complex on many of the weapons systems being used by our forces as we speak. I believed another Vietnam could be avoided with defined missions and the best armaments in the world.
It made no difference.
We have bought into the Military Industrial Complex (MIC). If you would like to read how this happens please see:
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/03/spyagency200703
Through a combination of public apathy and threats by the MIC we have let the SYSTEM get too large. It is now a SYSTEMIC problem and the SYSTEM is out of control. Government and industry are merging and that is very dangerous.
There is no conspiracy. The SYSTEM has gotten so big that those who make it up and run it day to day in industry and government simply are perpetuating their existance.
The politicians rely on them for details and recommendations because they cannot possibly grasp the nuances of the environment and the BIG SYSTEM.
So, the system has to go bust and then be re-scaled, fixed and re-designed to run efficiently and prudently, just like any other big machine that runs poorly or becomes obsolete or dangerous.
This situation will right itself through trauma. I see a government ENRON on the horizon, with an associated house cleaning.
The next president will come and go along with his appointees and politicos. The event to watch is the collapse of the MIC.
For more details see:
http://rosecoveredglasses.blogspot.com/2006/11/inside-pentagon-procurement-from.html
patrick, you'll have to give me the details of the war museum. in other news, this morning I fell in love with egg banh mi!
this is the ultimate in vicarious travel - thanks for bringing it all home.
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