Should images of dead soldiers be shown?

The bodies of the two soldiers were shown with their faces blurred

The BBC has broadcast controversial footage of the bodies of two British soldiers killed in Iraq.

The pictures of Sapper Luke Allsopp and Sergeant Simon Cullingworth were broadcast as part of a documentary looking at how the Arabic television station Al-Jazeera covered the war in Iraq.

The BBC said the broadcast was in the public interest.

But Downing Street, some newspapers and the families themselves had criticised the decision to show the pictures as insensitive and upsetting.

What did you think of the programme? Do you think the broadcast of the footage was justified? Tell us what you think.

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The following comments reflect the balance of views we have received:

I did not see this particular report, but it is absolutely imperative that TV stations broadcast the truth and facts, however tragic, ugly or shocking they are. Viewers have a right to be informed.

I wonder if your or my government had any problems when the BBC showed thousands of victims of Saddam Hussein's brutality being dug up in Iraq.

It was a horrifying sight, but that is what happened and the world needed to see it. I am sure our governments did not go and ask the relatives of the victims about their feelings regarding broadcasting that footage on TV.
Rupa Shah, US

Perhaps if more images showing the extreme violence of war were aired there would not be such a rush to start one in the first place.

Patrick Nairne, England

They were absolutely right to show the footage. If Western TV can show dead bodies of Iraqis, why not?
Abde, US

That's the problem with the media - you'll do or say anything, and the general feeling I get is to hell with what the families say so you can make your money.

As a retired soldier I am sickened by what you people do to make your money. Try respecting the families for once in your lives, put yourselves on the front lines some time and see how you would feel after that experience.

Shame on you and all media that would try to get better ratings by showing the dead bodies of any soldier.
Pat Horkey, Canada

I have not seen the programme, but I wonder what is so special about British or American (or Canadian for that matter) dead soldiers.

It's not as if we blur the faces of dead people from other countries. A recent BBC documentary shot in Congo showed some fairly mutilated bodies and living persons.
Alain Chabot, Canada

One reason we have wars in the first place is that there is not understanding.

As a retired soldier I am sickened by what you people do to make your money

Pat Horkey, Canada

Sometimes understanding requires a high level of detachment, so we can see what others see.

This does not mean we must abandon our own morals in exchange for relativism. Instead, this is about witnessing facts. If we are only getting half the information, we cannot form a whole opinion. I support the BBC's decision to show the footage.
Sarah, USA

Yes the BBC was justified in showing the sequence. During the war there were a number of images of dead Iraqi soldiers and civilians, and I don't recall any storm of protest.

War is the most vile of human activities, and it must never be sanitised. It is not about 'Shock and Awe' pyrotechnics but about human beings lying shattered and dead in the dirt.

Perhaps if more images showing the extreme violence of war were aired there would not be such a rush to start one in the first place.
Patrick Nairne, England

I think you have been totally insensitive and the footage was absolutely unjustified.
Cheryl, UK

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