Pentagon releases photos of fallen U.S. troops

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Under pressure from advocates of open government and a former CNN journalist, the Pentagon has released nearly 300 photos of U.S. troops killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflicts.
The release appears to pre-empt a court ruling that would have decided if the Pentagon could prevent their release to the public.
For years, the Pentagon has not allowed images of fallen soldiers to be released or their caskets to be photographed by media. Defense officials said their policy was implemented out of respect for the families of those killed.Critics of the policy said the photos are public records and that by not allowing the images to be shown, the military is preventing people from seeing the human cost of war.