Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

The Bush administration is going to great lengths to assure that casualty counts from Iraq are accurate – and misleading.

American service men and women killed are reported in a straightforward fashion. Those killed by hostile action are identified and those killed in accidents are so reported and both are added together to provide the count used by the government and reported to the media.

Is there any other way counting could be done? Actually, yes!

Those Americans wounded in action are quiet properly listed but those injured in accidents are compiled separately and only the former are given regular reporting coverage by the Pentagon. Thousands of Americans badly injured – up to and including those permanently and totally disabled in the hostile environment that is Iraq are not classified as casualties unless they were wounded by enemy action.

During previous wars such as World War II and Korea the military provided many more of its own services. Proud units such as the famed transportation command `The Red Ball Express’ came under fire and suffered many casualties, including many from accidents that would not qualify under today’s counting methods. Today, in Iraq many jobs formerly performed by the army and other services such as kitchen duty and truck driving are performed by contractors. Drivers and support personnel killed, wounded or disabled by hostile action or accident are carefully kept off the casualty books.

All of these techniques and many other statistical feats show a far rosier picture in Iraq than if standard operating procedures used in reporting casualties in prior conflicts were used. Men and women are still being killed and injured; they just don’t count like their grand parents.

As long as you know!

Blog on!

Wild Bill