there were pictures the government meant for you to never see when the u.s. invaded iraq at the outset of that war in 2003. president george w. bush declared that there would be no arrival ceremonies and no media coverage of military casualties caskets. americans could see the combat. they were happy to embed reporters with the military to make sure the public saw that, but americans would not be able to see for ourselves this other part of the war, the part where we see the human cost to u.s. troops and their families. it's not that there were no pictures of the flag-draped coffins coming back from iraq. the pentagon had pictures. but they wouldn't release them. and they wouldn't let the media take their own. they walled off those ceremonies