Let the Coffins Be Seen

Afghanistan casualty's return first to be covered since end of 18-year-old ban

(NEWSER) - The press was allowed to cover the return of a fallen US soldier last night for the first time since President Obama lifted an 18-year-old ban, the Washington Post reports. The family of Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers, who was killed by a bomb in Afghanistan Saturday, gave permission for the media to be there as required under the new policy. More»

Prez makes midnight trip to base as 18 bodies arrive

(NEWSER) - President Obama made a surprise visit to Dover Air Force Base before dawn today to honor fallen American service members. The president arrived at the base shortly after a transport plane carrying 18 bodies landed. Obama and other officials boarded the plane and stood by as a chaplain prayed over each flag-draped casket before it was carried out, AP reports. More»

(NEWSER) - The Pentagon has lifted the media ban at Dover (Del.) Air Force Base and will allow photos of the coffins of US war casualties returning from overseas—provided the service members' families approve. Under the new rules, the families can withhold permission, CNN reports. Some relatives had lobbied against the ban; others say they prefer the ceremony be private. More»

But 44 needs to make his case to America

(NEWSER) - When it comes to war, Presidents Bush and Obama really aren’t so different, writes Stephen Carter in Newsweek . While Obama was perceived as the peace candidate, “the office of the presidency, once assumed, transforms the outlook of its holder.” To wit: Obama is essentially recycling Bush's Iraq strategy for Afghanistan, and has expanded the targets in the fight against terror. He's "adopted wholeheartedly what we might call the Bush doctrine's political science" of preemptive strikes. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are "his wars now, nobody else's." More»

President declares end of combat operations in Iraq

(NEWSER) - President Obama stuck to the script tonight in declaring the end of the 7-year US military operation in Iraq. "Our combat mission is ending," he said. "Our commitment to Iraq's future is not." But Obama also acknowledged George W. Bush's stewardship of the war, along with his own personal opposition to it as an Illinois senator. "It’s well known that he and I disagreed about the war from its outset," he said. "Yet no one could doubt President Bush’s support for our troops, or his love of country and commitment to our security." (He made no mention of the troop surge ordered by Bush.) More»