9,000 + DEAD MILITARY?

[titoresque]

I was listening to Air America this a.m. while caller after caller phoned in to echo eachother about the fact that WE are NOT getting
the whole truth about the body counts, wounded etc. and that what this country needs is to FEEL the pain of war! We don't see the coffins, we don't see the soldiers missing limbs and badly burned, we don't see the funerals....we don't have a war tax....At a time in history when; because of the blogosphere and technology we have the capability of being more connected.And yet with this horrid illegal war we are left more in the dark than ever before.

Please read and act now!

http://baltimore.indymedia.org/newswire/display/10554

[Dogmudgeon]

1. That's not the right figure

This story has been around for months, that the actual number of dead is 5x as high as it is reported. It is a fear-mongering rumor.

It's normal to miss a few people in any body count, and that's lamentable. But the actual casualty rate is well-known and audited by a number of supervising agencies and commissions. It's approaching 1900, not 9000.

1900 deaths is bad enough. This war has been a massive fiasco since before Bush committed American soldiers to his crusade. And I agree, we must end the war with all possible speed.

But exaggerating death counts is not the way to do it.

--p!

[titoresque]

21. I dont agree

I think it's highly probable that the numbers are wrong. I'm hearing this from very reputable people who seem to know their stuff. I don't consider Randy Rhoades to be a guru but she is even saying 9,000....getting info from her sources. As for it being "debunked"...sorry,so sick of hearing that, alot of people will just forward stuff on because they believe so and so who said "it's been debunked"
I see no harm in looking into this further and asking people to check into it as well.
Forwarding this info on DOES NOT MAKE IT SO! It does not make the casualties at 9,000.......so why not investigate?

[Sparkman]

50. RIGHT!! Our democracy must DEMAND accuracy in reporting & VERIFICATION!

Don't even listen to those who have ANY reason not to ask for more verification and validation of the killed in service, they're our soldiers.
Great job titoresque.

[CottonBear]

2. See this reputable site for accurate information: 1,874 dead as of today

http://www.lunaville.com/blogging/
See this site for information on all coalition dead and wounded:
http://www.icasualties.org/oif/

[BOSSHOG]

3. If a soldier is not killed on the field of battle

he is not among the count, and if he ends up in a stateside hospital and dies of wounds later he is not added to the "official" talley.

[pointblank]

5. This apparently is untrue as well....

See this post:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4463174&mesg_id=4463174


I thought the same thing, but it seems I was wrong.


peace

[CottonBear]

6. Where can we find statistics on these deaths?

I have heard so many different stories about the accurate numbers. I'd say you are a reliable source! Any info that you can provide would be helpful as this topic comes up weekly. Thanks. CB

edit: Apparently, those who die later form their injuries are acounted among the dead. We wouldn't be having this conversation and confusion if we'd never gone into Iraq in the first place. :(

[pointblank]

11. According to DU poster SidDithers

from thread at:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4463174


Listing of servicemembers who have died outside of Iraq.

08/10/05 Benson, Michael A. Hostile - hostile fire - car bomb USA
08/05/05 Ball Jr., Terry W. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
08/04/05 Simon, Chad J. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
07/14/05 Hines Jr., Timothy J. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
06/21/05 Milev, Marin Milev Non-hostile - vehicle accident (drowning) Germany
06/13/05 Mattek Jr., John J. Hostile - hostile fire - explosion USA
06/03/05 Mendoza, Antonio Hostile - hostile fire - explosion USA
05/24/05 Collins, Randy D. Hostile - hostile fire - mortar attack USA
05/22/05 Seesan, Aaron N. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack Germany
05/11/05 Schmidt III, John T. Hostile - hostile fire - explosion USA
05/10/05 Bordelon, Michael J. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
05/02/05 Little, Tommy S. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
04/12/05 Dickens, Tyler J. Hostile - hostile fire - RPG attack (?) USA
04/09/05 LaWare, Casey M. Non-hostile - building fire Germany
03/04/05 Garceau, Seth K. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack Germany
03/03/05 Jones, Michael D. Non-hostile - illness USA
01/04/05 Washington, Bennie J. Hostile - hostile fire - RPG attack USA
12/29/04 Nelson, Craig L. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
12/09/04 Renehan, Kyle J. Hostile - hostile fire - mortar attack Germany
12/01/04 Pena, Javier Obleas-Prado Hostile - hostile fire Germany
11/27/04 Smith, Michael A. Hostile - hostile fire - sniper USA
11/24/04 Nolte, Nicholas S. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
11/23/04 Edinger, Benjamin C. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
11/20/04 Heredia, Joseph J. Hostile - hostile fire Germany
11/20/04 Welke, Joseph T. Hostile - hostile fire Germany
11/19/04 Downey, Michael A. Hostile - hostile fire - sniper USA
11/07/04 McVey, Otie Joseph Non-hostile - illness USA
10/22/04 Gadsden, Jonathan E. Hostile - hostile fire USA
10/13/04 Baker, Ronald W. Hostile - hostile fire - car bomb Germany
10/03/04 Pettaway Jr., James L. Non-hostile - vehicle accident USA
09/30/04 Nolan, Allen Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
09/28/04 Prewitt, Tyler D. Hostile - hostile fire - RPG attack Germany
09/19/04 Adams, Brandon E. Hostile - hostile fire - grenade USA
08/09/04 Houghton, Andrew R. Hostile - hostile fire - RPG attack USA
08/05/04 McCune, Donald R. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack Germany
07/21/04 Engel, Mark E. Hostile - hostile fire USA
07/15/04 Mardis Jr., Paul C. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
07/02/04 Martin, Stephen G. Hostile - hostile fire - car bomb USA
06/03/04 Bolding, Todd J. Hostile - hostile fire Germany
05/18/04 Chaney, William D. Non-hostile - illness Germany
05/08/04 Holmes, James J. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack Germany
04/22/04 Dunham, Jason L. Hostile - hostile fire USA
04/20/04 Fox, Bradley C. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack Germany
03/20/04 Vega, Michael W. Hostile - vehicle accident USA
03/19/04 Matthews, Clint Richard "Bones" Non-hostile - vehicle accident Germany
03/18/04 Sutphin, Ernest Harold Non-hostile - vehicle accident Germany
01/05/04 Frist, Luke P. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
12/02/03 Young, Ryan C. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
11/20/03 Tyrrell, Scott Matthew Non-hostile - ordnance accident USA
11/08/03 Jimenez, Linda C. Non-hostile - accidental fall USA
11/06/03 Fisher, Paul F. Hostile - helicopter crash (missile attack) Germany
10/01/03 Ramos, Tamarra J. Non-hostile - unspecified injury USA
09/16/03 Pinkston, Foster Non-hostile - illness USA
09/07/03 Thompson, Jarrett B. Non-hostile - vehicle accident USA
08/17/03 Ivory, Craig S. Non-hostile - illness - heat related Germany
08/14/03 Kirchhoff, David M. Non-hostile - illness - heatstroke Germany
08/06/03 Colunga, Zeferino E. Non-hostile - illness - acute leukemia Germany
07/12/03 Neusche, Joshua M. Non-hostile - illness - pneumonia? Germany
07/08/03 McKinley, Robert L. Non-hostile - illness - heatstroke Germany
07/04/03 Coons, James Curtis Non-hostile - suicide USA
06/18/03 Latham, William T. Hostile - hostile fire USA
06/01/03 Lambert, Jonathan W. Non-hostile - vehicle accident Germany
04/24/03 Jenkins, Troy David Hostile - hostile fire - bomb Germany

As you can see, to say they're not being counted would be incorrect.

[Roland99]

15. Right here:

http://icasualties.org/oif

[BOSSHOG]

51. I was referring to KIA's

as the official talley. In a "future" post I state that definition. Casualties.org lists military fatalities and that number includes those who later died of injuries but are not initially listed "officially" as killed in action. Sorry for the confusion. And you are right, its a shame we are having this conversation.

Now we get to spend the weekend trying to figure out which way Katrina is going. She'll probably be the source of some of your weather later next week.

[Horse with no Name]

8. I understand that they are

From a post here from someone that keeps the lists updated.
Sorry I don't have a link.

[SidDithers]

13. Soldiers dying stateside, or in Germany, are included...

www.icasualties.org

Listing of servicemembers who have died outside of Iraq.

08/10/05 Benson, Michael A. Hostile - hostile fire - car bomb USA
08/05/05 Ball Jr., Terry W. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
08/04/05 Simon, Chad J. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
07/14/05 Hines Jr., Timothy J. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
06/21/05 Milev, Marin Milev Non-hostile - vehicle accident (drowning) Germany
06/13/05 Mattek Jr., John J. Hostile - hostile fire - explosion USA
06/03/05 Mendoza, Antonio Hostile - hostile fire - explosion USA
05/24/05 Collins, Randy D. Hostile - hostile fire - mortar attack USA
05/22/05 Seesan, Aaron N. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack Germany
05/11/05 Schmidt III, John T. Hostile - hostile fire - explosion USA
05/10/05 Bordelon, Michael J. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
05/02/05 Little, Tommy S. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
04/12/05 Dickens, Tyler J. Hostile - hostile fire - RPG attack (?) USA
04/09/05 LaWare, Casey M. Non-hostile - building fire Germany
03/04/05 Garceau, Seth K. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack Germany
03/03/05 Jones, Michael D. Non-hostile - illness USA
01/04/05 Washington, Bennie J. Hostile - hostile fire - RPG attack USA
12/29/04 Nelson, Craig L. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
12/09/04 Renehan, Kyle J. Hostile - hostile fire - mortar attack Germany
12/01/04 Pena, Javier Obleas-Prado Hostile - hostile fire Germany
11/27/04 Smith, Michael A. Hostile - hostile fire - sniper USA
11/24/04 Nolte, Nicholas S. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
11/23/04 Edinger, Benjamin C. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
11/20/04 Heredia, Joseph J. Hostile - hostile fire Germany
11/20/04 Welke, Joseph T. Hostile - hostile fire Germany
11/19/04 Downey, Michael A. Hostile - hostile fire - sniper USA
11/07/04 McVey, Otie Joseph Non-hostile - illness USA
10/22/04 Gadsden, Jonathan E. Hostile - hostile fire USA
10/13/04 Baker, Ronald W. Hostile - hostile fire - car bomb Germany
10/03/04 Pettaway Jr., James L. Non-hostile - vehicle accident USA
09/30/04 Nolan, Allen Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
09/28/04 Prewitt, Tyler D. Hostile - hostile fire - RPG attack Germany
09/19/04 Adams, Brandon E. Hostile - hostile fire - grenade USA
08/09/04 Houghton, Andrew R. Hostile - hostile fire - RPG attack USA
08/05/04 McCune, Donald R. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack Germany
07/21/04 Engel, Mark E. Hostile - hostile fire USA
07/15/04 Mardis Jr., Paul C. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
07/02/04 Martin, Stephen G. Hostile - hostile fire - car bomb USA
06/03/04 Bolding, Todd J. Hostile - hostile fire Germany
05/18/04 Chaney, William D. Non-hostile - illness Germany
05/08/04 Holmes, James J. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack Germany
04/22/04 Dunham, Jason L. Hostile - hostile fire USA
04/20/04 Fox, Bradley C. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack Germany
03/20/04 Vega, Michael W. Hostile - vehicle accident USA
03/19/04 Matthews, Clint Richard "Bones" Non-hostile - vehicle accident Germany
03/18/04 Sutphin, Ernest Harold Non-hostile - vehicle accident Germany
01/05/04 Frist, Luke P. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
12/02/03 Young, Ryan C. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack USA
11/20/03 Tyrrell, Scott Matthew Non-hostile - ordnance accident USA
11/08/03 Jimenez, Linda C. Non-hostile - accidental fall USA
11/06/03 Fisher, Paul F. Hostile - helicopter crash (missile attack) Germany
10/01/03 Ramos, Tamarra J. Non-hostile - unspecified injury USA
09/16/03 Pinkston, Foster Non-hostile - illness USA
09/07/03 Thompson, Jarrett B. Non-hostile - vehicle accident USA
08/17/03 Ivory, Craig S. Non-hostile - illness - heat related Germany
08/14/03 Kirchhoff, David M. Non-hostile - illness - heatstroke Germany
08/06/03 Colunga, Zeferino E. Non-hostile - illness - acute leukemia Germany
07/12/03 Neusche, Joshua M. Non-hostile - illness - pneumonia? Germany
07/08/03 McKinley, Robert L. Non-hostile - illness - heatstroke Germany
07/04/03 Coons, James Curtis Non-hostile - suicide USA
06/18/03 Latham, William T. Hostile - hostile fire USA
06/01/03 Lambert, Jonathan W. Non-hostile - vehicle accident Germany
04/24/03 Jenkins, Troy David Hostile - hostile fire - bomb Germany

As you can see, to say they're not being counted would be incorrect.

Sid

[pointblank]

19. Hey!!

I beat you to your own quote Sid!!!


(see above)

May they all rest in peace.

[SidDithers]

22. Good on ya :)

:toast:

We usually have LynnTheDem responding to these posts, but she hasn't been here in a few weeks.

Sid

[DoYouEverWonder]

34. You mean to say

that there have only been 63 or so deaths from soldiers wounded in battle that have occurred outside of Iraq?

How many injured have we ended up with? About 19,000 at this point? That would mean there is a less then 1% death rate in that group, sorry I don't buy it.

[SidDithers]

47. So gimme a name...

Name a soldier who has died from injuries sustained in Iraq, who does not appear on that list.

Don't you think family members would notice if their son, daughter, father, brother, mother, sister, whatever, died in Germany, but didn't appear on a list like this?

I think the fact that there are only 63 deaths is more a testament to modern medicine than evidence of some sort of cover-up.

Sid

[titoresque]

52. yeah no shit!

seems a little low doesn't it!

[Roland99]

14. BULL-FUCKING-SHIT!

Please!

Enough with that CRAP!

[Jara sang]

4. I was down on the Mall in DC a while ago

and saw a young kid who had to be a Iraqi war veteran. He had a horrible limp and his body looked like it was partially paralyzed on one side. he had some combat medals that he was wearing on his civilian clothing. Probably out for the day from Walter Reed or Bethesda.

[longship]

7. This is bunkum.

It's been around for some time and has been thoroughly debunked.

See links in response #2.

[mshasta]

9. I do believe it.

the true numbers will never make it to the public...


that is the control over death bodies.

[longship]

10. What? The facts be damned?

Go to links in response #2

[DoYouEverWonder]

12. The current figure of about 1900+ KIA

are battlefield deaths only. If you die after you get to Germany you are not included in that total.

Total deaths from injuries sustained in Iraq is the figure that no one will account for. I wouldn't be surprised if that figure is closer to 10,000 at this point.

[SidDithers]

18. See post #13...

or supply a name of a servicemember who has died outside of Iraq from wounds suffered in Iraq, who is not included in the list at www.icasualties.org

Sid

[MildyRules]

24. NAME ONE solider

who was wounded in Iraq and later died outside of Iraq who was NOT counted in the official death talley. Name just one...

[DoYouEverWonder]

41. How the hell would I know their names

unless I was unfortunate enough to know one of them personally? Since the government isn't keeping track and releasing that information and the M$M isn't reporting any of it, I guess I'd have to hang around the morgue at Walter Reed to find out.

[MildyRules]

48. If this is happening you OUGHT to

be able to find proof, no?

[ProdigalJunkMail]

16. is there any way that we can stop this ONE question???

it happens at least once a week and is thoroughly trashed every time it comes up. The FACT is that there are about 1900 dead soldiers at this point...it is verifiable...please stop spewing this garbage and calling FACT.

DAMN!

sP

[SidDithers]

20. No, it's the many headed hydra...

all you can do is keep cutting of the heads that grow back.

Trust me, I've tried :)

Sid

[ProdigalJunkMail]

23. i say we all just give in and say SURE

9000 dead...hell, why not 20,000 dead? Let's just make it a cool 100,000 dead US soldiers...that should help us 'feel the pain of war.'

DAMNIT! Must take...valium...

sP

[Prism]

35. Cauterize

But I'm low on torches, unfortunately. Also seems to be a shortage of pitchforks.

Not that it's a bad thing.

[titoresque]

25. I DIDNT CALL IT FUCKING FACT!

All I did was post an article and asked people to take a look.........SO FUCKING sorry that I didnt see it posted before........and who the hell are you to say it's been debunked????????? THERE ARE ALOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT BELIEVE THAT 9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB.....THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY SPREADING FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY....AND SO ON........DEBUNKED?! Well I guess thats up for debate.....

I see no harm in looking into this further, if you dont want to then DONT for christ sake!

[Roland99]

26. Because this HAS been looked into further...for MONTHS!!

This shit is OLD!

[titoresque]

27. then move along!!!!!!!!

see ya!

[Roland99]

29. Then request your thread be locked or edit the title to "DELETE ME"

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

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

[Roland99]

38. Why would I do that? We all make mistakes from time to time.

I haven't read any of your other posts up here so it's way too soon to judge your contributions.

[titoresque]

40. gee thanks

what a nice guy/gal?

[Roland99]

45. I try to be and I'm sorry if DU has come off roughly in this thread

It's just that crap like this makes us ALL look bad.

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

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

[titoresque]

39. yeah sorry

I'm not on here much, didnt see it posted before......But I must say that if this is the worst part of your glorious day.....you're doing pretty good!

[ProdigalJunkMail]

44. well, people continuing to be uninformed is pretty bad

so, yeah, it is the worst part of my day, thanks. It seems like your day must be pretty bad or you would not have blown the gasket you have blown over getting called on this post. Sorry...hope your day gets better.

sP

[titoresque]

49. LMAO!!!

believe what you want, I will do the same.
Peace.....done here on this thread.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

28. fact...in your text

>>SNIP

the fact that WE are NOT getting
the whole truth about the body counts, wounded etc.


>>SNIP

the FACT that we are not getting the truth...we are getting the truth...no thanks to people like you...if YOU would look into what others HERE have done before posting this THOROUGHLY DEBUNKED claptrap then we would not be having this pointless conversation.

sP

[titoresque]

33. Hey look up alittle too

I said I was LISTENING TO CALLERS WHO ECHOED EACHOTHER........NOT THAT I CALLED!

Do you people have nothing better to do than attack me because I posted something you think is sooooooooooooooo last week? or Wait, soooooo last month? or wait let me beat you to it.......soooooooooo last year?!
Why don't you move along, some of you really are such assholes on this board its hilarious! I asked that you read the article.....the article asks such things like, "forward this on" "ask people you know" NOT....."TELL EVERYONE THAT THIS IS FACT!"

[ProdigalJunkMail]

37. spewing crap as FACT is not ok

and I am sorry you are so offended that people called you on it. You stated it is a fact that we are not being informed about the casualty rates in Iraq. I pointed out that there is plenty of research RIGHT HERE ON THIS BOARD that contradicts your assinine assertion. It is not because it is LAST WEEK or LAST MONTH or LAST YEAR...it is because you are so damned WRONG on something that is LAST WEEK...LAST MONTH and LAST YEAR.

sP

[titoresque]

42. yeah I don't think you read my post

but whatever, that's ok.......you're probably right.
Thanks for all the advice, sure appreciate it! :)

[ProdigalJunkMail]

46. you're spewing the crap that someone on AA is spewing

learn...they are uninformed...YOU are uninformed...you have a chance to get it right...but, alas, no such growth is coming from you...

sP

[MildyRules]

32. Great! Look into it

Report back when you've found a solider who died as a result of action in Iraq, who was later not reported as having died in Iraq.

[Solly Mack]

17. Nah....it's more like 9 million and they are all stashed away in Crawford

in a secret bunker.

[beetbox]

31. Certainly to be considered but 9,000 seems high

I have few doubts that the 1,800 figure is lower than what the reality is, but it is impossible to account for al the dead in 'the fog of war'. Consider also all of the non-US troops killed from Ecuador, El Salvador, Chile etc.,"the private contractors" and the figure is definitely higher than the 1,800.

Consider mostly the Iraqi children and be outraged and be in the public view with your dissent on a daily basis. Visiblility.

Iraq’s Children: Choir of Despair
US deeply involved in the gravest of international crimes

by Ghali Hassan

August 9, 2005

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a wide range of specific rights and protection measures to protect children worldwide. It is also the most ratified international human rights treaty ever. It strictly prohibits the abuse and torture of children. In most Western countries, including the US, the abuse of children is a criminal offensive. However, this is not the case when the crimes are committed against Iraqi children by Western forces. It is part of the destructive policy brought into Iraq by the US Occupation of the country.

Contrary to Western politicians, Western media and Western "progressives" who welcomed the illegal war of aggression against Iraq, the plight of Iraqi children under Occupation is worsening. On all levels – human rights abuse, healthcare, medical, educational, and psychological – the Iraqi children are enduring immense hardship and suffering. It is a cover-up of crimes against humanity.

http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=HAS20050809&articleId=822

[meganmonkey]

43. DEBUNKED HERE:

By DU's own LynnTheDem who works for ICCC.

--------
Pat and Michael run the ICCC; I believe many DUers are familiar with the site. I help with the research end of things.

So very often people post here and other boards about the US "hiding" hundreds or even thousands of US soldier's deaths.

That is NOT POSSIBLE. Here in Pat's own words is some of WHY that is not possible:

Question:

Is it possible the US military is hiding large numbers of US soldiers' deaths?

Answer:

In a word ... NO ... I do not believe such a discrepancy is even remotely possible. I hadn't seen the DKos diary, so went there just now and scanned through the diary and comments. It never ceases to amaze me what otherwise sensible people will fall for.

For two solid years now, Michael and I have followed the deaths in Iraq literally on a daily basis. We haunt the CENTCOM, MNF-Iraq and DOD websites ... as well as all of the major news feeds. In fact, the two of us have grown adept at finding death notices in the news media prior to the military issuing them. For about the past year and a half, Michael and I have been joined in the research by Evan D., an historian in the Washington D.C. area, and by Lynn L., another researcher whose husband is in the 4th ID. So that makes 4 of us searching the news media and the military sites, each and every day mind you, for deaths.

And after all this time, we all four of us concur. Yes, there are a few unreported deaths, which I'll explain in a minute. But not thousands. We'd have found them if there were.

Here's something that might interest you. If you go to our homepage, you'll notice a place up top that says "Fatality Details". Click on that. That'll take you to our fully searchable database.

When you get there, scroll down to the bottom of that page to where the Filters are. I'm finding that many people simply don't realize these handy, dandy little tools are there. Go over to the right to where it says "Country of Death" ... and select, say, "Germany" from the drop down list. Then hit the "Apply Filter" button over to the left.

Voila ... a list of 23 guys will appear ... all of whom died in Germany from wounds or illnesses incurred in Iraq ... all of whom have formal releases from the DOD and who are on the DOD's death list.

Now go back to the filters and hit "Remove Filter" so that you can start fresh. Go back to the "Country of Death" and select "USA", then hit "Apply Filter". There's 31 troops who died in the USA and whom the DOD has owned up to.

So there's no truth to the rumor that if you die outside of Iraq, the DOD automatically ignores you. Yes, occasionally it does ... especially if the death happens months after the soldier gets back from Iraq (Lynn's husband knows of 5 men that this applies to). And I am told that occasionally Special Forces deaths may be hush-hush. But as a rule, no. It's just a wild rumor.

And it's the same with this 7,000 business. If our list were missing thousands of names, can you imagine the e-mails we would get from enraged grannies, aunts, best friends, etc. for daring to leave their loved one OFF??? I shudder to think of it. I get called to task for every little goof-up I make as it is. I recently mistakenly entered a soldier's service branch as "U.S. Army National Guard" because that's what a news article said. Oh my ... the chaplain for the man's unit had an e-mail in to me within the HOUR complaining that it was U.S. ARMY RESERVES, dammit! And then there are the parents who write to say that the DOD published the wrong hometown, and would I please put the correct one in my database. We have thousands upon thousands of eyes out there watching that list. We aren't missing thousands of names.

The last thing to consider is this: the Bush administration isn't GOOD ENOUGH to hide that many deaths. They haven't managed to hide Halliburton's over-runs. They haven't managed to hide the troop equipment shortages. And they haven't managed to hide their own ineptness in the whole occupation. Somehow the truth has a way of seeping out between the cracks.

And me and Michael and Lynn and Evan watch those cracks like hawks.

Oh, dear ... didn't mean to write a diatribe. But this rumor is really starting to set my teeth on edge. I think I may send the above to Markos and see if he'll publish it ... at least let me get my very considered opinion in!

Thanks for the tip on the article. I hope I answered your question.

Pat K.
Researcher, ICCC


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3688105

[Moderator]

53. Locking...

This story has been debunked. If
you find a mainstream source that
gives this number, please feel
free to post it.