Pentagon will allow photos of war dead

The Obama administration will reverse its predecessor's policy and permit the media to photograph soldiers' coffins as they arrive in the U.S.

Published February 26, 2009 5:45PM (EST)

Earlier this month, President Obama said his administration was reviewing a policy, set under former President George W. Bush, that prohibited the media from photographing the coffins of dead soldiers as they returned to the U.S. The results of that review are in, and the policy will be reversed, the Associated Press reports.

There is one catch -- the troops' families will have to give their consent. That's similar to the policy in place at Arlington National Cemetery, the AP says.

A recent CNN poll showed that 67 percent of Americans believe the government should allow pictures of the soldiers' homecoming ceremonies; 31 percent disagreed.


By Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

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