The Defense Department has apologized for obstacles to covering war, reports the New York Times. For the past two month, the Pentagon has come under criticism from news organizations for its restrictions on journalists covering the fighting in Afghanistan. "We owe you an apology," Victoria Clarke, the assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, wrote Thursday in a letter to the Washington bureau chiefs of major news organizations. "The last several days have revealed severe shortcomings in our preparedness to support news organizations in their efforts to cover U.S. military operations in Afghanistan."