Reports on US war deaths in decline
Lack of coverage of Afghanistan war dead is in spite of spike in fatalities.
The US president has had a first-hand look at the toll the Afghanistan war is taking on American forces.
During a pre-dawn visit to a military base in the state of Delaware on Thursday, Barack Obama met the flag-draped remains of 18 Americans killed this week in Afghanistan.
It was the first time Obama had attended what’s known as a “dignified transfer”. George Bush, the former president, never attended one, although he often met grieving families privately.
The pre-dawn return of the Afghanistan war casualties drew an unusual amount of attention from the US media – usually very few, if any, televison crews or newspaper reporters are on hand to see the flag-draped coffins taken off the plane.
Sebastian Walker has more on the lack of media coverage of US war dead, even as the American death toll in Afghanistan rises.