Nixon claimed photo
of victim was 'fixed'
Former President Richard Nixon doubted the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of a naked 9-year-old Vietnamese girl fleeing a napalm attack was authentic, according to recently released White House tapes from the National Archives.
The black-and-white photograph by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut depicted a terrified girl running, her arms outstretched and her clothes burned off, from the burning village of Trang Bang, following an attack by U.S. forces on 8 June 1972.
On the tape, recorded in the Oval Office, Nixon talks with then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger about escalating the bombing of Vietnam and adds, "I'd rather use the nuclear bomb." Nixon criticizes Kissinger for being concerned about civilian casualties.
"You're so goddamned concerned about the civilians, and I don't give a damn," Nixon says. "I don't care."
He then says Ut's famous photo was "fixed," a comment that columnist Robert Scheer called "a sentiment worthy of Slobodan Milosevic."
The Associated Press stood by the veracity of the photograph, according to published reports.
The girl was later identified as Phan Thi Kim Phuc, whose life following her unwilling fame was chronicled by Canadian journalist Denise Chong in her book, The Girl in the Picture: The Story of Kim Phuc, the Photograph and the Vietnam War. [2002.03] TOP
Related links
News: A Vietnam War victim tells her survival story — a Fotophile.com story
Audio: Nixon White House Tapes — at the site for C-SPAN's "American Political Archives" radio show
Editorial: The Still Bad New Old Nixon by Robert Scheer in The Nation
...
Afghan girl in photo
found 17 years later
No one knew the name of the girl with piercing green eyes whose image captivated the world when she appeared on the cover of National Geographic nearly two decades ago.
Until now.
Her name is Sharbat Gula, and she lives with her husband and three daughters in a remote part of Afghanistan, according to a 21 March 2002 National Geographic story. She is estimated to be between 27 and 30 years old.
A group who set out to look for the Afghan girl made famous by Steve McCurry's 1984 photograph located the woman after searching in a Pakistani refugee camp and several villages until someone recognized her face and led them to her brother.
"The second I saw the color of her brother's eyes, I knew we had the right family," said Boyd Matson, host of the National Geographic television show Explorer. [2002.03] TOP
Related links
News: A preview of the current National Geographic magazine story, including notes and photographs by Steve McCurry: A Life Revealed — Her eyes have captivated the world since she appeared on our cover in 1985. Now we can tell her story.
News: The original June 1985 story that featured Gula's photograph, Along Afghanistan's War-torn Frontier by Debra Denker, photographs by Steve McCurry
...
