The wise decision (02/28/2009)

King Solomon would have approved.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates faced a tough decision this week and found the best solution.

Since 1991, media coverage of the returning of the remains of fallen servicemen and women has been blacked out.

Some felt that it was demeaning to the troops and their families. Others argued that not allowing coverage was equally demeaning to the troops and their families. Some felt - though there was little or no evidence to support it - that the ban on coverage was a calculated attempt to control public opinion by concealing the human cost of military conflict.

Even within the military and within military families, the issue was divisive.

As Secretary Gates noted this week, the Pentagon itself remains divided on what's the best and most appropriate practice.

But a decision had to be made, and the secretary found the wisdom to make the right one.

The question, he decided, isn't best decided by generals or politicians or the press.

It's best decided by the families involved. From here on out, media coverage of the arrival of remains of troops brought back from Iraq or Afghanistan will follow the wishes of the surviving families.

Some will want it. Some will shunt it. But the choice will be theirs.

And that's as it should be. - J.R.[[In-content Ad]]