Afpak Photo War
Archive 6

Protesters wearing pig masks, German Bundeswehr uniforms and covered in fake blood stand next to a fake memorial to German Bundeswehr soldiers near the German Ministry of Defense on September 8, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. Inside the grounds of the Ministry German President Horst Koehler was to inaugurate a real memorial to the approximately 3,000 German Bundeswehr soldiers who have died in international deployments. The Bundeswehr's role in the ISAF peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan has come under heavy domestic criticism in recent days since the Bundeswehr-targeted attack on two stolen fuel trucks near Kunduz that killed an estimated 125 people, many of them Taliban but also at least some civilians. Getty

Afghan boys look at female U.S Marines from Delta Company of the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion in a village near the town of Khan Neshin in Rig district of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan September 8, 2009. Reuters

An Afghan man holds up his clothes to show that he is not carrying explosives after he was stopped by U.S. Marines from Delta Company of 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion patrolling near the town of Khan Neshin in Rig district of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan September 8, 2009. Reuters

Roissy-en-France, Paris northern suburb, the coffin of a French soldier who died after being wounded in a bomb attack in Afghanistan. Two French soldiers died and eight others were wounded when a booby trap exploded against their armoured personnel carrier as they carried out reconnaissance in Afghanistan. The year 2009 has already been a record-breaking year for foreign soldiers killed in Afghanistan since the US-led bid to oust the Taliban began following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Getty

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reacts, after she addressed the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009. Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday pledged Germany's support for a thorough investigation of an airstrike in Afghanistan that may have killed civilians, but said her government won't accept premature judgments from critics at home or abroad. AP

Wounded Canadian Sapper Alexandre Beaudin-D'Anjou wipes away a tear as the coffins of two of his comrades are carried past him during a repatriation ceremony at Kandahar Air Field September 7, 2009. Beaudin-D'Anjou and two others survived a roadside bomb attack that killed Maj. Yannick Pepin, 36, and Cpl. Jean Francois Drouin, 31, when the blast flipped their armoured vehicle southwest of Kandahar on Sunday, bringing to 129 the number of Canadian soldiers who have died in Afghanistan since their mission began in 2002. Pepin is the highest ranking member of the Canadian military to die in combat in Afghanistan. Reuters

Canadian soldiers carry the casket of Maj. Yannick Pepin, 36, and Cpl. Jean Francois Drouin, 31, who were both killed on Sunday by a roadside bomb, at Kandahar Air Field September 7, 2009. Pepin, the highest ranking member of the Canadian military to die in combat in Afghanistan, and Drouin were killed when a powerful roadside bomb flipped their armoured vehicle southwest of Kandahar on Sunday, bringing to 129 the number of Canadian soldiers who have died in the country since their mission began in 2002. Reuters

A U.S Marine from Delta Company of the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion stands outside his vehicle after patrol, near the town of Khan Neshin in Rig district of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan September 7, 2009. Reuters

An Afghan man holds his clothes up to show that he's not wearing explosives before U.S Marines from Delta Company of 2nd Light Armored Recon Battalion search him for weapons near the town of Khan Neshin in Rig district of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan September 6, 2009. Reuters

Inside the cargo hold of a special operations plane, a U.S Air Force captain checks the load of supplies for a re-supply air drop to a Special Forces fire base in Afghanistan Sunday, Sept. 6, 2009. AP

afpak-comms.htm       Afpak Communications Eyeball                     September 6, 2009

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Angela Nolan, a medic, and crew chief, assigned to 1st Battalion, 168th Aviation Regiment talks on the radio to pilots of an UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, after completing a medical evacuation flight to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, July 20, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Teddy Wade/Released) Date Posted: 8/3/2009

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class, Steve Larocque, Charlie Company, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, writes down a radio frequency used by the Taliban as Interpreter Qarder Khatin, Observation Mentor Liaison Team, holds the radio out which is used by Afghan National Police as a ANP Officer watches at Nishagam, Afghanistan, July 15th, 2009. The ANP Officer sharing the information claims to have heard the insurgents speak about the ambush that happened the prior day which killed one US Soldier and wounded three right after the attacks occurred. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Evan D. Marcy / Released) Date Posted: 7/29/2009

U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Enrique Munoz, with Embedded Training Team 44, uses a radio to ensure air space is clear before artillery pieces are fired at Forward Operating Base Kalagush, Afghanistan, July 10, 2009. Munoz is working with the Afghan National Army and is training soldiers to use field artillery guns. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jennifer Cohen/Released) Date Posted: 7/13/2009

U.S. Marines with 1st Squad, 3rd Platoon, Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 3 use Husky tactical support vehicles to find improvised explosive devices while on patrol in Afghanistan July 2, 2009. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Joseph Breinlinger/Released) Date Posted: 7/20/2009

U.S. Marines and Navy Seabees assigned to the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 5 convoy security element provide security March 30, 2009, at the entry control point of a project in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. NMCB 5 is deployed to Afghanistan providing contingency construction support to allies and the NATO International Security Assistance Force. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Patrick W. Mullen III/Released) Date Posted: 4/10/2009

U.S. Army Spcs. Patrick Wilson, left, and Evaristo Garcia fire a 120 mm high-explosive mortar round during a coordinated illumination exercise on Forward Operating Base Mizan, Afghanistan, Sept. 2, 2009. Both Soldiers are from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army Europe. (DoD photo by Sgt. Kris Eglin, U.S. Army/Released) Date Posted: 9/4/2009

http://www.eandppub.com/2009/09/ap-photo-of-afghan-death-that-is-causing-controversy.html

UPDATE: AP Photo of Afghan Death That Is Causing Controversy

Photo of U.S. Marine, who later died on August 14, by Julie Jacobson, AP. See stories here on media response, the original AP report, and more on media using and refusing to run here. Secretary of Defense Gates has now sent a formal protest to the AP, which said it would revisit the issue but declined to withdraw the photo. By all accounts, relatively few news outlets have decided to air the image. I have written about this general issue and controversies for many years at E&P and in book. -- Greg Mitchell

Julie Jacobson, AP

This undated photo provided Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009 by the US Marine Corps shows Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard, 21. Bernard was hit with a rocket propelled grenade in a Taliban ambush Friday, Aug. 14, 2009 in the village of Dahaneh in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. He later died of his wounds.

In this photo taken Friday Aug. 14, 2009, U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard of Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, patrols on point through the bazaar in the village of Dahaneh in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Less than an hour later Bernard's squad was ambushed by Taliban fighters waiting in a pomegranate grove. Bernard was hit with a rocket propelled grenade and later died of his wounds. AP

U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, left, and 2nd MEB Sgt. Major Hooph pay their respects to Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard during a memorial service at a forward operating base with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Regiment, 2nd MEB, 3rd MEF, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009, in Now Zad in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Bernard was mortally wounded during a Taliban ambush on Aug. 14. AP

This undated photo shows Associated Press photographer Julie Jacobson, center, standing with unidentified members of the Afghan National Army. On Aug. 14, 2009, Jacobson was with a U.S. Marine patrol in southern Afghanistan when it walked into a Taliban ambush. The clash resulted in the death of 21-year-old Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard, hit in the legs by a rocket-propelled grenade. From the reporting of Alfred de Montesquiou, the photos and written journal kept by Julie Jacobson, and the TV images of cameraman Ken Teh, the AP has compiled "Death of a Marine," a narrative of the clash, offering vivid insights into how the battle was fought, and into Bernard's character and background. AP

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (L) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen take questions from the news media during a press conference at the Pentagon September 3, 2009 in Arlington, Virginia. Gates addressed the eroding public support for the war in Afghanistan. He stated, 'The nation has been at war for eight years. The fact that Americans would be tired of having their sons and daughters at risk and in battle is not surprising.' Getty

Military veterans dip their flags, as the coffin of Fusilier Simon Annis, 22, is carried into the church of St John the Baptist, during a funeral service in Irlam, England, Thursday Sept. 3, 2009. Annis was killed by an explosion in Sangin, Afghanistan on Aug. 16, while trying to save an injured comrade. AP

Donna Axelson, second from the right, mother of fallen U.S. Navy Sonar Technician 2nd Class Matthew Axelson, a former SEAL, comforts her daughter-in-law, Maria "Patsy" Axelson, during the Pacific Beacon unaccompanied personnel housing dedication ceremony in San Diego, Calif., March 26, 2009. The buildings were named in honor of three fallen SEALs; Axelson, Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Danny Dietz, both killed during Operation Redwings in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005, and Interior Communications Electrician 1st Class Thomas Retzer, killed in Afghanistan, June 25, 2003, while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Pacific Beacon is a privately owned community that features four 18-story towers with 941 dual master suite apartments. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michelle Kapica/Released) Date Posted: 6/9/2009

U.S. Marine Corps troops in High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV) of Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, conduct a mounted patrol in the cold and snowy weather of the Khowst-Gardez Pass, Afghanistan, in order to disrupt any enemy activity on Dec. 30, 2004. The Marines are stuck in heavy snow and had to move on foot. These Marines are conducting security and stabilization operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Cpl James L. Yarboro) (Released) Date Posted: unknown

U.S. Marine Corps troops in High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV) of Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, conduct a mounted patrol in the cold and snowy weather of the Khowst-Gardez Pass, Afghanistan, in order to disrupt any enemy activity on Dec. 30, 2004. These Marines are conducting security and stabilization operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Cpl James L. Yarboro) (Released) Date Posted: unknown

Sailors and Marines of the Navy and Marine Corps Intelligence Center (NMITC) conduct training exercises in an area designed to simulate conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan. The NMITC facility at Naval Air Station Oceana, Dam Neck Annex, is designed to teach Sailors and Marines to use non-traditional intelligence collection efforts to combat a non-traditional enemy. The facility was dedicated to Gunnery Sgt. Ronald Eric Baum who was killed in Iraq, May 3, 2004. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason R. Zalasky (RELEASED). Date Posted: unknown

Soldiers from the US coalition forces patrol through the streets of Kabul on September 3, 2009. More than 300 foreign troops have died in Afghanistan so far this year, making it the deadliest to date. Most deaths this year have been caused by IEDs, which also claim many civilian lives. Getty

US Army (USA) Soldiers and Afghanistan National Army (ANA) Soldiers meet with local villagers in an effort to locate caves in the area of Sulamain Khel, Afghanistan. Soldiers assigned to 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Assault) are operating 18-miles from the Afghanistan and Pakistan border during Operation Apache Snow II, as part of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Photographer's Name: SGT KEITH D. MCGREW, USA Date Shot: 6/11/2002

Graphic shows monthly U.S. troop deaths in the Afghanistan war. AP

U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. Kimberly Smith conducts a patrol brief on Patrol Base Jaker in the Nawa district of the Helmand province of Afghanistan Sept. 1, 2009, prior to a convoy. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. William Greeson, U.S. Marine Corps/Released) Date Posted: 9/3/2009

U.S. Marines with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment prepare to go on a reconnaissance patrol in Nawa district, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Aug. 29, 2009. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Phillip Elgie/Released) Date Posted: 9/3/2009

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Brett Greensage and Cpl. Mike Tiearney, with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, cross a river during a reconnaissance patrol in Nawa district, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Aug. 29, 2009. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Phillip Elgie/Released) Date Posted: 9/3/2009

Theresa Cunningham (left), the wife of US Air Force (USAF) Senior Airman (SRA) Jason D. Cunningham, Pararescueman, 38th Rescue Squadron (RS), 347th Rescue Wing (RW), Moody Air Force Base (AFB), Georgia (GA), hugs another 38th RS Pararescueman after the March 4, 2004, renaming ceremony dedicating the SRA Jason D. Cunningham Airman Leadership School at Moody AFB in honor of her husband who was killed on March 4, 2002, in Afghanistan while saving the lives of ten other men participating in Operation ANACONDA which was conducted during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. SRA Cunningham was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross on September 13, 2002. Photographer's Name: TSGT ROB JENSEN, USAFLocation: MOODY AFB Date Shot: 3/4/2004

Active duty personnel from McConnell AFB, Kansas arrive onboard a KC-10 Extender from McGuire AFB, NJ to their deployed base in the Persian Gulf. They here to help with the air war in Afghanistan during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. In response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 at the New York World Trade Center and the Pentagon, President George W. Bush initiated Operation ENDURING FREEDOM in support of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), fighting terrorism abroad. Photographer's Name: SSGT Michael Gaddis, USAF Location: UNKNOWN Date Shot: 10/28/2001

In these May 28, 2009 photos provided by the U.S. Army, Pfc. Jordan M. Brochu (L) and Spc. Jonathan D. Welch (R) are seen. According to the Department of Defense, Brochu, 20, of Cumberland, Maine, and Welch, 19, of Yorba Linda, Calif., died Aug. 31 in Shuyene Sufia, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device.

U.S. Marines walk around a base in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, September 3, 2009. Reuters

U.S. Marines walk to enter a helicopter in front of a base in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, September 3, 2009. Reuters

Unidentified mourners file out of the North Fort Chapel following a ceremony at Fort Lewis, Wash. on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2009 honoring the lives of Sgt. Troy Orion Tom and Pfc. Jonathan C. Yanney, who died Aug. 18, 2009, when their vehicle was struck by an IED in Afghanistan. AP

From left : International special envoys for Afghanistan and Pakistan, French Thierry Mariani, US Richard Holbrooke and France's Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner, attend a press conference after their meeting on September 2, 2009 in Paris. Western troops cannot leave Afghanistan until the region has been made secure, French Bernard Kouchner said after a meeting with international envoys.'We want to bring our decisive support to the Afghan population, with projects linked to agriculture, health, and education,' Kouchner said after talks with US special envoy Richard Holbrooke and counterparts from 25 other countries and organisations. Getty

Brooke Jenkins looks at her 10-week-old daughter, Reagan, as the casket holding the body of her husband, U.S. Army Capt. Cory Jenkins, is carried at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Mesa, Ariz. on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009. Jenkins was killed by an IED after it struck his Stryker vehicile in southern Afghanistan Aug. 25, 2009. AP

U.S. soldiers keep watch at the scene of a suicide bomb blast in Mehtar Lam, east of Kabul, September 2, 2009. At least 23 people were killed in the suicide bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan, said Sayed Ahmad Safi, a spokesman for the governor of Laghman province, where the attack took place. Reuters

Widow Chelsey Pellerin, left with flag, and mother Melissa Farmer, right with flag attend the burial service for Justin Pellerin at the state Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen, N.H. , Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009. Pellerin of Concord, an Army infantryman, died on Aug. 20 from injuries suffered in a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. AP

An Army honor guard carries the ashes of Army Sgt. 1st Class Severin West Summers III, of Bentonia, Miss. , at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, August 31, 2009 in Arlington, Va. Summers was killed in Afghanistan on Aug. 2, 2009. AP