Pentagon's No. 2 Flubs Iraq Casualties

[leftchick]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040429/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/iraq_deaths_wolfowitz&cid=542&ncid=1480

<snip>

WASHINGTON - Asked how many American troops have died in Iraq (news - web sites), the Pentagon (news - web sites)'s No. 2 civilian estimated Thursday the total was about 500 — more than 200 soldiers short.

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was asked about the toll at a hearing of a House Appropriations subcommittee. "It's approximately 500, of which — I can get the exact numbers — approximately 350 are combat deaths," he responded

"He misspoke," spokesman Charley Cooper said later. "That's all."

American deaths Thursday were at 722 — 521 of them from combat — since the start of military operations in Iraq last year, according to the Department of Defense (news - web sites).

[LittleApple81]

1. We don't count casualties...oops...That is supposed to be the Iraqi

casualties.

[DRoseDARs]

2. Way to stay informed there Paulie

:eyes:

[benburch]

3. They don't care at all...

or they would know the exact number.

The American Soldier is just an inexpensive weapons deployment platform to these...

well I cannot say what they are here, but it's terrible.

[arcane1]

9. troops are mere "venture capital" to these devils

what's a few hundred more dead? His beautiful mind can not be bothered with such trivial matters :grr:

[gottaB]

12. Rummy Says "People are Fungible"

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0420-11.htm

[sandnsea]

18. No, they don't

I just ate and I think I'm going to be sick. There are so many worst things yet, every day I think I've seen or heard it all. But no. They continue to shock and awe.

[central scrutinizer]

38. soldiers are "fodder units"

and caskets are "transfer tubes". Wolfie has more important things to do than count them.

[TNOE]

4. what don't they

fucking lie about - another "misspoke" - guess they didn't give a shit about the last 300 guys... I would be willing to bet total soldier deaths for US are well over 1,000.

[prodigal_green]

10. I wonder if that is the real reason we don't see pictures of the dead

Because somebody might actually keep track.

I've heard rumors that the numbers are much much higher than the official tally.

[TNOE]

13. Yea, since everything needs to be a big damn secret

No doubt we have lost a whole lot more than they've said - otherwise there would be no pullout of Fullajah.

[Lindacooks]

5. Yeah, right

He 'misspoke'. That's a flat-out lie, by a creep who doesn't care how many people die for his Nazi world plan.

[Just Me]

6. It's not about "misspeak",...he just really does not give a d*mn.

The freon neocons know their asses and bank accounts are safe. So, why the hell should they care about the deaths of other people,...even soldiers?

:grr:

[CPschem]

7. beware: wolfowitz has always been a weasel.

next to rove, he's the slimiest.

[Leilani]

8. Why should he bother his beautiful mind

with those ugly numbers?

[oldsurfer53]

15. Combat Casualty Reports?

I had read somewhere that a wounded soldier that dies during a medevac isn't included as a combat causality in the official reports. Is this true? Anyone have more details if so?

Reason I'm asking is that I'm involved with a UBB group for a WWII era combat flight sim/game that is dominated by RW neo types. There are just a few of us, and I proudly say, LIBERALS and debunking all the RW spin there is a daunting task. Please help me here.

Yes I'm new, been lurking for many, many months.

[Shakespeare]

19. I've heard that as well, and would love to know if it's true.

If it is true, it's heartbreaking. :-(

[oldsurfer53]

24. I dunno

It's something I read here a few weeks or a month ago. I think the article said that if a soldier is seriously wounded but dies during transfer by med transport personnel that those deaths aren't counted in the Govs combat death count.

I made a major UBB mistake in posting my recall of that article w/o having links to back up my assertions...with these neocons I deal with that is a big mistake.

On a funny note, one of the most rabid Bushites posted an article from Frontpagemagazine.com basically stating that WMD's have been found.

For those interested here's a link to the UBB I'm referring to. Go to the Off topic forum, it may be entertainingly disgusting there.

http://www.hitechcreations.com/ubbframe.html

[Just Me]

31. Hi Ya oldsurfer53

:hi:

I can't find the "Off topic forum" at the site you indicated.

[ze_dscherman]

20. Welcome to DU, oldsurfer53

:toast:


Sorry I can't give you any answer to your question.

[catzies]

22. Welcome to DU! I'm someone has your definitive answer

Here's a link to lunaville's methodology. It doesn't specifically answer that question unfortnately but it has lots of helpful info.

http://lunaville.org/WC/Methodology.htm

[Crunchy Frog]

23. Welcome to DU oldsurfer.

The best site online for keeping track of casualties is,
http://lunaville.org/warcasualties/Summary.aspx

They keep track on the basis of CENTCOM and DOD reports. They definitely do include soldiers who died of later of their injuries, including ones that have died at Walter Reed and other U.S. hospitals.

They have a link to CENTCOM reports that often report on soldiers that have died in the days following sustaining their injuries.

Hope that helps.

[Richardo]

26. Welcome to DU, oldsurfer...

...I know some people in Aptos, CA! PM me and let's discuss. ;-)

[greenleaf]

39. The Global Security Org

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_casualties.htm

site seems to give higher casualty figures than the Lunaville site.

http://lunaville.org/warcasualties/Summary.aspx

Don't know why that should be, but I suspect it's in the way the casualty reports are released.

Also the eyewitness accounts from Iraq tend to suggest that the true casualty numbers are higher than is admited by the DoD.Have a look at some of the earlier reports by Dahr Jamail at the ElectronicIraq site.

http://electroniciraq.net/news/1355.shtml

Anyway its the ' fog of war' and all that.

[markses]

11. Absolutely unbelievable

Truly, had this been a Democrat off by 200+ on both counts, there would be a shitstorm the proportions of which would make the Lewinsky deal look like a dog-bite story in the Piscataway Weekly Courier.

Wolfowitz is a sickening little man. Imagine the families of those troops. This sniveling coward gets them killed with his bizarre and twisted "grand schemes," and then doesn't even have the courtesy to know how many he has sent to die.

THIS BASTARD SHOULD KNOW EACH AND EVERY NAME! HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HOW MANY!

Truly a despicable performance.

[leftchick]

30. well said markses...

Repuke hypocrisy knows NO bounds these days. I too thought about the dead soldiers' families. The man is fucking INHUMAN... :grr:

[tabasco]

35. I despise Wolfowitz as I do any cold-blooded murderer.

We must punish these criminals. There absolutely must be retribution for this outrageous hijacking of our Nation and the needless killing of our troops. The corporate powers that now control the US must know there will be repercussions for utter corruption and incompetence. I will not be satisfied until I see the leaders of this cabal led away in chains!

[enough]

14. This would be incredible

if we didn't already know that NOTHING is incredible with these guys.

You would think he's be ashamed, but then again they have no shame.

[VolcanoJen]

16. That was NO mistake.

"Crying Wolfowitz" showed his true lack of compassion, and lack of respect for true numbers, while making that comment.

Excellent catch, as always, leftchick.

:grr:

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Jacobin]

27. These are NOT good things to say.

[Just Me]

29. As in, popping a bottle cap in his eye,...

,...you know,...something like that!!!

:bounce:

Personally, I'd like to bankrupt the guy Bushco-style: lie then leave.

[CaptainClark23]

34. No, they are not.

And it gives me no pleasure to say them, less so to feel them.


And thats how it is.

[Ilsa]

21. Let's all email him every morning with the count and

links to all the sites. I bet he thinksonly a few hundred have been sent to the doc.

[MSgt213]

25. So the number 2 doesn't have to know how many lives he's losing in a

FUCKING WAR HE STARTED?

[Malva Zebrina]

28. It should be obvious to any parent

do not grow up your babies to become soldiers. All the US in interested in is empire. If you want your babies to grow up to be pawns of insane men who only want to use them to make more money for their cohorts and themselves, then your babies will grow up to join and become monsters for an evil person who is NOT interested in him or her at all, except that he can laugh at night and tell his frump that he is so powerful that he can lie to send your babies to their deaths, make a whole lot of money and lie to us all, continually, --they will die for an evil and insane man's greed. They will die to support an evil man and his support for Israel's hegemony in the ME. They will die for every evil except for that which they have believed is truth--they are "defending" the freedoms of the US

NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH

Do not let your babies be so enamored of killing and so enamored of the "bravery" in their adololescent testosterone beliefs that they will seek to kill in order to gain something for their own sense of their being

Teach peace, not war --teach peace not the false bravery that our young think determines they are indeed brave-- when they can attack a defenseless country, invade it, kill thousands of it's innocents

A true war, where we will face challenges from another country that is equal to ours in defense, is not , at this time, feasable or imageinable.

AT some point in the future it may be.

[tom_paine]

32. He LIED.

"Misspoke", my ass!

That's what these Soviet-Bushevik Fuck say EVRY TIME THEY ARE CAUGHT LYING.

I think it's a bit more than a coinkydink, considering the sheer & massive volume of the Lies they Tell.

[RobertSeattle]

33. Recall when Dean was off by 20K about troops in Iraq?

And the RW foamed at the mouth.

#2 man at the Pentagon could care less about US KIAs.

[AlCzervik]

36. Wolfowitz need to clear his calendar

on Friday night and watch Nightline to bring himself up to speed. What a complete and utter asshole.

[saigon68]

37. PLEASE DON'T OFFEND ASS HOLES

AND SPEAKING OF ASSHOLES HERE ONE WITH SOMETHING IN IT COURTESY OF THE 327th MILITARY POLICE BATTALION

[Kool Kitty]

40. Wolfowitz didn't misspeak,

he doesn't give a shit. The guys running this war think all the troops are expendable, they are non-entities to Wolfy and the rest of the cabal. He's a disgrace.