U.S. media misleading public on Iraq casualties

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

''U.S. media misleading public on Iraq casualties''

By Matthew Riemer
YellowTimes.org Columnist (United States)

(YellowTimes.org) – Media outlets have been spinning the information on U.S. casualties in a most curious way. Instead of regularly updating viewers and listeners concerning the number of killed and injured U.S. servicemen and women since the beginning of the war in Iraq, an insidious and disingenuous distinction is being emphasized more than ever: that of the "combat deaths" and the "non-combat deaths." Phrases like "hostile fire," "friendly fire," and "in-action deaths" are now commonplace in Washington's and the media's handbook of propaganda and euphemisms.

News agencies are constantly making the above distinction, reporting the number of U.S. soldiers killed by "hostile fire" as well as those killed in other ways but only keeping a running tabulation of those who have lost their lives in combat. Updates are almost unheard of regarding the number of casualties resulting from non-fatal injuries.

As of July 21st, 233 U.S. soldiers have died and over 1200 have been injured since Operation Iraqi Freedom began. Yet the media focuses only on those killed by "hostile fire" as if those killed in other ways or those simply injured are less important. An Internet search will reveal a thousand stories about the numbers killed by "hostile fire" to every one that offers the complete details.

-SNIP-

MORE AT: http://www.yellowtimes.org/article.php?sid=1496&mode=thread&order=0

[umkhonto]

1. Heard on NPR

5 soldiers killed since Uday and Qusay were killed. So what, now we reset the count like the damn DIebold voting machines.

This is a dishonor to those who served and died before.

Rethug clowns, don't you know that the circus is over, the tent has blown away, the ringmaster has run off with the elephant.

[Sagan]

2. THANK YOU!

I have been yelling about this for weeks. And I've also been calling CNN regularly and taking them to task for intentionally mis-representing casualties.