President Obama Pays His Respects As Fallen Americans Return Home

In the dark of night, President Barack Obama traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to be there as the remains of 18 Americans who were killed in Afghanistan this week were brought home.

On Morning Edition, NPR's Scott Horsley talked with host Renee Montagne about what it was like at the base. Obama left the White House just before midnight, Scott says, and when he got to Dover the first thing he did was meet with the soldiers' families at a chapel.

Four times, Scott says, Obama went on board the transport plane and then accompanied the remains as they were brought out. The bodies were of 15 military personnel and three Drug Enforcement Administration agents.

Update at 3:15 p.m. ET: At the White House today, the president said his trip to Dover was "a sobering reminder" of the sacrifices of war, the AP reports. The wire service adds that Obama:

Told reporters Thursday that the burden of such sacrifices by U.S. military personnel and their families "is going to bear on how I see" the war in Afghanistan. Obama is in the midst of an intensive review of the war, which could result in him soon ordering more troops overseas.

Update at 12:15 p.m. ET. Jay Tea at the widely read conservative blog Wizbang writes that "if we're lucky, that was not just a photo op, and will help him come to the realization that he has a debt of honor to those men."

Liberal Steve Benen at Washington Monthly's Political Animal says that "for all the talk in recent years about whether American media should be allowed to cover — and whether the American public should be allowed to see — flag-draped caskets as fallen U.S. soldiers return home, it was good to see President Obama pay his respects this morning at Dover Air Force Base."

Update at 9:55 a.m. ET. At the conservative National Review Online's The Corner blog, Pete Hegseth writes that:

It was a classy move that I believe underscores the serious nature with which President Obama is approaching his forthcoming Afghanistan decision.

As much as anyone else, I want the president to make his decision as soon as possible — American lives, and commitment, hang in the balance. But if he has to take a few extra days to get it right — and become convinced of the rightness of General McChrystal's approach — then the extra time is worth it.

The liberal Cup O' Joel blog says that "the meaning of Dover" is this: "Afghanistan is Obama's war now."

Update at 9:50 a.m. ET: USA TODAY has a photo gallery here.

Update at 9:45 a.m. ET. ABC News' Political Punch blog reports that:

A senior White House official tells ABC News that President Obama has wanted to do this ever since the policy of media coverage of the return of fallen troops was changed earlier this year, but he wanted to do so "in a way that caused the least amount of disruption." ...

... On the helicopter flight back to Washington, DC, President Obama thanked (military aide, U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Clay) Beers for arranging the trip, after which no one said a word for the remainder of the 45-minute flight.

Update at 9:35 a.m. ET. The Associated Press posted this video:

Update at 7:45 a.m. ET. Here is Scott's report: