US coverage of Afghan war dead remains slight - 29 Oct 09

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". Former president George W. Bush never attended one, although he often met privately with grieving families. 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.