Daily U.S. Casualties 8/22/2003

[tboullett]

Daily U.S. Casualties 8/22/2003


As of Thursday, 271 U.S. soldiers have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq, according to the military.

The British government has reported 45 deaths. Denmark's military has reported one death.

On or since May 1, when President Bush declared that major combat operations in Iraq had ended, 133 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq, according to the latest military figures.

The latest deaths reported by U.S. Central Command:


An American soldier was killed by "an improvised explosive device," the U.S. Central Command said. The incident occured in the Karkah district of Baghdad late Wednesday. The soldier, whose name was not yet released, was from the 1st Armored Division.
There were no new military identifications.

[lebkuchen]

1. an e-mail I got from FAIR

Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2003 2:16 PM
To: FAIR-L
Subject: Many Deaths Left Out of Iraq Story

FAIR-L
Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting
Media analysis, critiques and activism

ACTION ALERT:
Many Deaths Left Out of Iraq Story

August 19, 2003

With U.S. forces under consistent attack in Iraq, months after George W.
Bush declared "major combat" over on May 1, media routinely refer to the
number of American soldiers killed. But many of those reports
dramatically undercount the actual number of U.S. deaths since Bush's
May
1 address.

A recent NPR report (8/7/03) was typical: "These two deaths bring to 55
the number of U.S. forces killed in combat since May 1st, when President
Bush declared major fighting had ended." A survey of transcripts from
some leading broadcast news outlets--ABC World News Tonight, NBC Nightly
News, CBS Evening News and National Public Radio-- found numerous
reports
that used the same phrasing. These media are making a distinction-- one
rarely explained to audiences-- between combat and non-combat deaths,
choosing in most cases to only report the former.

NPR used this formulation earlier this month (8/3/03): "The U.S. has
suffered more than 50 combat fatalities since major fighting ended in
May." The following day (8/4/03), it omitted the usual qualifier,
rendering the report inaccurate: "So far, 52 American soldiers have died
since major combat officially ended in Iraq" (8/4/03). In reality, the
total U.S. dead was about twice that figure, as tallied by the website
Iraq Coalition Casualty Count
(http://lunaville.org/warcasualties/Summary.aspx).

The broadcast TV networks tend to feature the lower number in their
reports as well. "The total killed since President Bush declared the
major combat over: 56 Americans," declared Campbell Brown (NBC Nightly
News, 8/8/03). In another reference to Bush's May 1 speech, ABC's John
Cochran reported (World News Tonight, 8/8/03): "Since the president gave
that assurance, 59 Americans have been killed, 399 wounded." CBS
Evening
News reported (8/8/03) that since Bush's comments, "56 U.S. troops have
been killed, including one last night, a guard from the 82nd Airborne,
shot while on patrol in Baghdad."

Some might suggest that using a casualty figure that includes non-combat
deaths would portray the war as more deadly and dangerous than it really
is. But non-combat fatalities clearly include deaths that are a result
of
the war; car accidents are often a result of speeding to avoid ambushes,
for example, and the heavy battle gear troops are forced to wear
contributes to heat-related fatalities. As Editor & Publisher's Greg
Mitchell wrote (7/17/03), "Even if killed in a non-hostile action, these
soldiers are no less dead, their families no less aggrieved. And it's
safe
to say that nearly all of these people would still be alive if they were
still back in the States."

In a few unusual reports, news outlets have tallied up all the U.S.
military deaths in Iraq. On July 28, NPR reported that "the number of
Americans killed in action since President Bush declared an end to major
combat on May 1 now stands at about 50. An equal number of U.S. troops
have died from other causes during that time." In an August 9 report on
CBS Evening News, CBS anchor Thalia Assuras reported that "since the
proclaimed end of major combat, 119 soldiers have died in the line of
duty." ABC World News Tonight (7/21/03) reported that "95 U.S. troops
now
have died in Iraq since President Bush declared the end of major combat
on
May 1st, 38 of them in what the military calls hostile acts" (ABC,
7/21/03).

Iraqi casualties, especially since Bush's May 1 declaration, are barely
on
the media radar. Most references to life in Iraq since then offer few
details on the number of Iraqi dead or injured. "Fifty-four American
troops killed in the last 100 days. There's no exact count of the Iraqis
killed, or robbed, or raped," reported NBC's Richard Engle (8/9/03).
While
an exact total is impossible to verify, the website Iraq Body Count
(http://www.iraqbodycount.net) lists dozens of Iraqi deaths since May 1,
many of whom were killed by U.S. forces.

Asked to describe Iraqi perceptions of the United States, NPR reporter
Anne Garrels said: "Rightly or wrongly, Iraqis believe their lives count
for little in the eyes of the Americans, who dutifully tally the
Americans
killed, but give no numbers on Iraqis who were killed, whether they're
guilty or innocent" (8/3/03). While the Iraqis may be right about the
higher priority given to U.S. vs. Iraqi deaths, not even all U.S.
casualties are being fully acknowledged-- and that shortcoming applies
not
just to the Pentagon, but to media as well.


ACTION:
Contact media outlets and encourage them to report the complete totals
for
U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq, and not just those labeled "hostile
fire" or "combat" deaths by the Pentagon. Encourage journalists to
attempt
to count Iraqi losses as well.

CONTACT:
ABC World News Tonight
Phone: [phone]
mailto:[e-mail]

CBS Evening News
Phone: [phone]
mailto:[e-mail]

NBC Nightly News
Phone: [phone]
mailto:[e-mail]

National Public Radio
Jeffrey Dvorkin, Ombudsman
Phone: [phone]
mailto:[e-mail]

As always, please remember that your comments are taken more seriously
if
you maintain a polite tone. Please cc [e-mail] with your
correspondence.

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2. Hate to say it...

but FAIR is so far left its untrustworthy. They should monitor news from both sides to fight against bias, not just against the left.