I understand Pertenko's point and God knows that the AP has a really poor track record with photos (Lebenon anyone?) but this probably could have been handled a lot better. The AP, of course, only got part of the overall picture of the event and probably would have used that to paint a fairly poor picture of the Marines involved but now the myths and rumors built around what was deleted will probably be far worse than what was actually there. This is why I am actually in favor of the embed program. I know that puts me in the minority in the military but that is the way I feel. Embeds have gotten a bad wrap because of the actions of a few and the percieved actions of others but they have actually done a decent job. They provide a way to answer the freelancers who come in a portray an unbalenced picture of the military or more impertantly, the myths and rumors that bulild up where no information is coming.

SFC W