20 Oct 2008

Colin Powell, moved by photographer's image of a grieving mother, backs Obama

Author:

Simon Bainbridge

Our friends over at PDN have found an interesting photo angle to Colin Powell's recent endorsement of Barak Obama, finding he was in part moved by an image he saw by British photographer Platon – of a mother grieving for her son, killed (presumably) in Iraq or Afghanistan.

"...as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards, Purple Heart, Bronze Star, showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian Cross. It didn't have a Star of David. It had a crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan. And he was an American."

Powell was talking to Meet the Press.

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