Washington’s Corcoran Gallery goes to war

All that changes is the uniforms

Whatever you may think of the president’s decision to delay American military action in Syria, the Corcoran’s exhibit of war photography is an apt reminder that “war is a nightmare experience,” as Don McCullin, a British photographer, wrote about an earlier US battlefield disaster–Vietnam. Arranged thematically (e.g. “The Fight,” “Refugees,” “Remembrance”), the show of 200 “images of armed conflict and its aftermath” ranges from the Crimean War to the latest heartbreak in Iraq.

Epic in its scope, universal in its heartbreak, “War/Photography” is a masterpiece as old as “The Iliad” and as timely as tomorrow’s headlines.

See it. Then fight the good fight for peace.