U.S. military's media control debated

BAGHDAD, July 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. military's strict control of photographs from the Iraq war zone is sparking a debate of freedom of speech versus security, experts say.

Only a handful of photographs of dead U.S. soldiers have appeared in any medium since the Iraq war began in 2003, and one photographer who recently published such photos on his Internet Web site has been ostracized by local U.S. military commanders, The New York Times reported Saturday.

The photographer, Zoriah Miller, and his supporters say the move is a clear-cut case of censorship and reflects a determination by U.S. officials to sanitize a conflict that is overwhelmingly unpopular among the public.

But military officials say Miller provided aid to the country's enemies by giving them visual confirmation of the effectiveness of a June 26 suicide bombing of a city council meeting in Anbar province.

News organizations told the Times that military restrictions, along with the danger and soaring costs in a time of newsroom budget cuts, are diminishing visual coverage of the war.