How is photography 'political'?

"The photograph itself doesn't interest me.

I want only to capture a minute part of reality. " -Henri Cartier Bresson

Photographs tell a visual story whether it be artistic, snap shots of family, formal portraits, fashion or photojournalism. In my mind it is the photojournalism photos that so often can be political, but this is not to say that other photographs can’t be political. A snapshot of a family picnicking at a nice park tells a story in terms of the way they dress, the food they eat, the feeling of happiness or unhappiness, the state of the park in which they picnic – this together may be political when comparing with another family in another country in terms of +/- wealth , +/- a different culture or +/- surrounding violence for instance.

The photo I have chosen is by Henri Cartier-Bresson. The wearing of the flag is ALWAYS political. She looks old, underweight and worried. Perhaps there is a war on or a demonstration. What could she be pointing at? Maybe she is not even American, but just supporting the American troups who are in her country. Cartier-Bresson lived from 1908-2004 and is known as the father of street photography. I have no idea when or where this photograph was taken.

Reference:

Photographers: http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://apphotnum.free.fr/images/cartier-bresson05.jpg&imgrefurl=http://apphotnum.free.fr/N2BE43.html&h=500&w=336&sz=48&tbnid=oFm-ZL0Q3Q5_IM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=87&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhenri%2Bcartier-bresson%2Bphotographer&hl=en&usg=__JhReoUPBh0KVD-V9EHMbYNucz5M=&ei=L0bjS6u0K8-LkAWh_fj6Dw&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=3&ct=image&ved=0CCkQ9QEwAg