Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said today that the war in Iraq was going “reasonably well” and he defended the government’s refusal to allow public release of photographs of coffins returning to the U.S. carrying the bodies of dead soldiers.

In a brief media availability Friday afternoon, Myers, a Kansas native, said the no-photo policy was “in respect for the families and their wishes.”

He said every U.S. casualty is listed on the Department of Defense Web site once family is notified.

“This is not an attempt to hide anything,” he said.

The Air Force earlier this week briefly made available on the Internet several photos of the returning flag-draped coffins in response to an open records request. But the Pentagon quickly reinstated the no-photo policy.

Myers will speak later tonight to the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. He spoke earlier in the afternoon on the Kansas University campus to about 200 ROTC cadets.