In the 82 days since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, operated by BP, exploded, sank and began gushing millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the BP company and the federal government have been playing public relations games with the public in order to put a positive spin to this ecological disaster.

The U.S. Coast Guard has put out orders that press photographers and reporters could not get within 60 feet of oil cleanup operations, and press planes could not fly lower than 3,000 feet. Seems like someone was trying to curb the freedom of the press.

The Coast Guard said it was for the safety of all involved, but we don’t think that a photographer will hurt a worker trying to clean up the oil mess.

Seems to us that BP and the feds just didn’t want any more pictures of oil-soaked pelicans and turtles to be on the front page of national newspapers.

BP and the government have both fudged on the amount of oil coming out of the busted wellhead. When scientists viewed the video of the gushing oil, the small estimate made by BP was shattered. Scientists said that oil was coming out of the well at a rate that was at least 20 times more than BP estimated.

Now, according to the Washington Post, the Department of Defense has signed a large multi-million contract with BP for different fuels for their vehicles and planes in European military operations. According to the report, the contract was signed after the Deepwater Horizon sank.

Before that contract was signed, the federal government was buying fuel from BP in a contract worth $980 million. BP was providing 11.7 percent of all the fuel purchased for our military.

We understand meeting the obligations of an old contract, but to sign a new contract with a company that is putting our entire region in jeopardy seems incomprehensible.

Yes, this disaster has been a public relations nightmare for BP. Their public persona was not helped by the incredible gaffes by CEO Tony Hayward, nor by the fumbling of the U.S. government. But that is not our concern.

This disaster threatens our security, our economy and our way of life. Quit playing public relations games. Just cap the well and get the oil out of the Gulf — now.