US crackdown on coffin photos prompts cover-up claims

THE Pentagon has ordered a crackdown on any more images of coffins containing America's war dead being shown in public amid claims the US government is trying to cover up the true cost of the war.

The publication of the pictures first on a website and then in the mainstream media came despite a government ban.

"Quite frankly, we don't want the remains of our service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice to be the subject of any kind of attention that is unwarranted or undignified," said John Molino, a deputy under-secretary of defence.

But others claimed the pictures show the true extent of the cost of war something the Bush administration was trying to cover up. The constant stream of body bags returning to the US during Vietnam was a central factor in the slump in support for that war, some observers believe.

The row came as it emerged an American football star, who quit a $5m contract to join the Army, had been killed during a battle in Afghanistan. Pat Tillman, 27, decided to enlist alongside his brother after the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

The former player with the Arizona Cardinals was killed during a firefight in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, Pentagon sources said.

The pictures of the coffins were taken at the Dover air base in Delaware, home to America's largest military mortuary. They were released last week to First Amendment activist Russ Kick, who had filed a Freedom of Information Act request to receive them.

Air Force officials initially denied the request but decided to release the photos after Mr Kick appealed their decision. After he posted more than 350 photographs on his website, the Defence Department barred the further release of the photographs to media outlets.

One of the papers to print the pictures, the New York Times, said in an editorial: "The theory seems to be that the pictures are intrusive, or possibly hurtful, to bereaved families.

"But it seems far more likely the Pentagon is concerned about the impact that photos of large numbers of flag-draped coffins may have on the American public's attitude toward the war."

A New York Times/CBS News poll in December found 62% of Americans were in favour of showing the coffins return.