Washington (AFP) – The Pentagon congratulated The New York Times Tuesday for winning a Pulitzer Prize for its highly critical expose of civilian deaths in the Afghanistan war, saying the report forced the US military to examine its own behavior. Last December the newspaper exposed cover-ups of what it called thousands of civilian deaths caused by US forces during the 20-year war, deeply embarrassing the US government. Citing internal US documents, the report said the US military had advertised its ability to pinpoint targets to avoid civilians, using high-tech surveillance and closely-control…