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April 29, 2004
National World
Pentagon angered by photos
from military mortuary
By RANDALL GHASE
e Associated Press
DOVER, Delaware -
A website published
dozens of photographs
of American war dead
arriving at the nation’s
largest military mortu
ary, prompting the Pen
tagon to order an infor
mation clampdown.The
photographs were
released two weeks ago
to First Amendment
activist Russ Kick, who
had filed a Freedom of
Information Act request
to receive the images.
Air Force officials ini
tially denied the request
but decided to release
the photos after Kick
appealed their decision.
After Kick posted
more than 350 photo
graphs on his Web site,
the Defense Depart
ment barred the further
release of the photo
graphs to media outlets.
“They’re not happy
Jackson’s next mission: Iraq
By ED WILEY 111
BET.eom Staff Writer '
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, say
ing he has gained the “cooper
ation of the on-the-ground
religious leadership” in Irag,
told the families of American
hostages Monday that he
would like to help negotiate
their freedom.
Freeing the hostages is a
“moral responsibility” and not
“a sign of weakness,” said
Jackson, who has a long list of
successes in gaining the release
of captured Americans.
Keith Maupin, an Army
reservist, and Thomas Hamill,
the Mississippi truck driver
who was working for Hal
liburton, were captured by
Iragis in a string of interna
tional abductions over the
past month, a period which
also saw nearly 100 U.S.
troops killed. In a videotape
released by Arab television sta
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<o Jesse Jackson
with the release of the
photos,” Dover Air
Force base spokesman
Col. Jon Anderson said.
The photos were taken
at the Dover base -
home to the mortuary—
and most of the images
are of flag-draped
coffins.
Defense Department
rules prohibit media
coverage of human
remains arriving at
Dover, and Pentagon
spokesman Lt. Col.
Gary Keck said release
of the mortuary photos
appears to be in conflict
with department policy.
Defense officials said
the purpose of the poli
cy is to protect the pri
vacy of the soldiers’
families — not to cir
cumvent or violate the
Freedom of Information
Act or any other law.
“Quite frankly, we
don’t want the remains
of our service members
who have made the ulti
tion Al-Jazeera, Maupin was
surrounded by several armed,
masked men who said they
were willing to swap him for
Iraqi prisoners held by the
United States.
Jackson told CNN that a
prisoner exchange “must not
be out of the picture.”
But National Security
Adviser Condoleezza Rice, the
most vociferous defender of
the Bush administration’s pol
icy in Irag, was quick to
respond.
“I think you can be certain
that negotiating with terrorists
is not on this president’s agen
da,” Rice said on Fox News
Sunday.
However, Thomas Hamill’s
wife, Kellie, apparently famil
iar with Jackson’s record of
securing hostage releases,
solicited the reverand’s help,
The Associated Press report
ed. Mississippi Republican
mate sacrifice to be the
subject of any kind of
attention that is unwar
ranted or undignified,”
said John Molino, a
deputy undersecretary
of defense.
At a rally in Dover last
month, war protesters
criticized President
Bush for continuing the
practice of previous
administrations of not
allowing the public or
media to witness the
arrival of remains at the
base.
“We need to stop hid
ing the deaths of our
young; we need to be
open about their
deaths,” said Jane
Bright of West Hills,
California, whose 24-
year-old son, Evan
Ashcraft, was killed in
combat in July.
Telephone and e-mail
messages to Kick were
not immediately
returned Thursday,
April 22,
Sen. Trent Lott put Jackson in
contact with the family,
according to AP .
Jackson successfully negoti
ated the release of Navy Lt.
Robert Goodman from Syria
in 1984 and three years later
negotiated the release of 48
Cuban and Cuban-American
prisoners. He also brought
home hostages from Iraq and
Kuwait in 1990 and again in
1999 during the Kosovo con
flict.
Last week, Jackson met
with BET.com editors and, in
a wide-ranging interview,
addressed what he said was
the presidents failed policy in
Irag.
“The United States went
into Iraq virtually alone, with
one mind, and scored the
world for not following us,”
Jackson told BET.com. “We
sought to isolate the UN; we
sought to divide Europe. We
went in without them; we
cannot get out without them.
“The price they want us to
pay to help us get out is they
want to be with us at the bar
gaining table for Iraqs recon
struction, and we are too arro
gant to allow them to do so.
Unless there is a radical
change in this position, we
will be losing this war big
time, drop by drop.”
Jackson contrasted the Iraq
invasion with U.S. involve
ment in World War 11.
“After World War 11, when
people saw us coming, they
saw hope and freedom, and
there was jubilation,” he said.
“Now they see fear, threats,
intimidation and occupation,
and they are fighting back.
We are in a quagmire now.
We can't leave, and we can't
say.”
AUGUSTA FOCUS
In a related incident, a
cargo worker was fired
Wednesday, April2l, by
a military contractor
after her photograph of
flag-draped coffins bear
ing the remains of U.S.
soldiers was published
on the front page of
Sunday editions of The
Seattle Times.
Tami Silicio, 50, was
fired by Maytag Aircraft
Corp. ter military
offici aised concerns
abou e photograph
taken in Kuwait, said
William L. Silva, May
tag president.
Silicio took the photo
graph in a cargo plane
about to depart from
Kuwait International
Airport earlier this
month.
She sent the photo to
a stateside friend who
provided it to the news
paper, which then
obtained permission
from Silicio to publish
it.
Act Two of Michael Jackson casé
features new cast of lawyers
%LINI.)A DEUTSCH
Special Correspondent
LOS ANGELES (AP) -
Act Two of the Michael
Jackson child molestation
case gets under way this
week with a new cast of
lawyers taking center stage.
“My life is at stake,” the
pop star said as he
announced firing his two
high profile lawyers, Mark
Geragos and Benjamin
Brafman.
At the counsel table when
court reconvenes Friday will
be Thomas Mesereau Jr., a
well known advocate whose
work on behalf of the
downtrodden and minori
ties was a selling point for
the superstar who has been
involved in fund raising for
NuMeErous causes.
Mesereau also is a veteran
of a star trial, having repre
sented actor Robert Blake
in 2 murder case for the past
year before they had a
falling out.
Sitting beside Mesereau
will be Steve Cochran, Jack
sons longtime lawyer, and
Robert Sanger of Santa Bar
bara, who has represented
Jackson in lawsuits in the
county where his Neverland
ranch is located.
From his statement, it
appeared that Jackson broke
with Geragos because of the
famed attorney’s representa
tion of Scott Peterson on
charges that Peterson mur
dered his wife, Laci, and
their unborn child.
Jackson felt that Geragos’
involvement in that trial,
which is in jury selection,
was taking up too much of
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Photo by U.S. Air Forcethememory.org
Coffins of U.S. military personnel are prepared to be’
offloaded at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware in’
this undated photo. The U.S. Air Force, in response to a-
Freeclom of Information Act request, released to Web site
http://www.thememoryhole.org on April 14 more than 300 -
photographs showing the remains of U.S. service mem
bers returning home. The Pentagon tightly restricts pub
lication of photographs of coffins with the remains of U.S.
troops and has forbidden journalists from taking pictures
at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the first stop for the
bodies of troops being sent home.
his time.
“It is imperative that I
have the full attention of
those who are representing
me. My life is at stake,”
Jackson said. “Therefore, I
must feel confident that my
interests are of the highest
priority. I am innocent of
these false charges, and will
aggressively seek to clear my
name.
“I feel very confident that
when I am able to defend
myself, I will be exonerated
by a jury of my peers,” Jack
son said.
Jackson, 45, is free on $3
million bail. He was origi
nally charged with seven
counts of lewd or lascivious
conduct involving a child
under 14 and with adminis
tering an intoxicant, report
edly wine, to a child under
14.
Brafman, one of New
York’s top criminal defense
attorneys, declined to com
ment on Jackson’s state
ment, as did Geragos.
- “I have not replaced my
defense team,” Jackson said.
“I have replaced the lead
attorneys. And, contrary to
reports, this is a decision
that I have personally
made.”
The statement which said
flatly that Geragos and
Brafman were “terminated”
came a day after the lawyers
said they voluntarily
“stepped down” from the
case for reasons they would
not discuss publicly.
In a hearing Monday
afternoon by conference
call, Superior Court Judge
Rodney Melville approved
the substitution of lead
counsel. :
The change comes less’
than a week before Jackson
is due in Santa Maria Supc-;
rior Court for arraignment.
on a grand jury indictment.'
Behind the scenes,
sources said that yet anoth-%
er attorney had been direct-.
ing the negotiations that led
to the dismissal of Geragos
and Brafman. '
Brian Oxman, a Jackson'
family attorney who has;
been close to Jackson’s
brother, Randy, was
described as having been'
“*at the highest level in thc;
negotiations.”
Oxman had worked with’
Mesereau and knew of Jack
son’s desire to have him as’
his attorney. An earlier’
approach to Mesereau was
rejected because he was still
representing Blake.
With the return of a
grand jury indictment last
week, Jackson began to re
evaluate his team.
“This is a new case now, a
new proceeding,”said
Oxman. “This is totally
Michael’s decision. He’s
concerned with everything.
He'’s very passionate about
this. He is a smart man, a
good man. He is innocent
and he’s going to show he’s
innocent.”
Defense attorney Harland
Braun, who was replaced by
Mesereau in the Blake case,
said it is not unusual for
Hollywood stars to change
lawyers in mid-case.
“Think of it as politics,”
said Braun. “A candidate
often changes managers in
the middle of a campaign.” |