the ultimate deception

kvinchuca
the ultimate deception
Tue Jun 21, 2005 17:27
200.117.142.71


DELIVERING NEWS AND OPINION SINCE MAY 9, 2005
June 20, 2005
06.18.2005 Jim Lampley

The Ultimate Deception?
A Bush-watcher website identified as TBRNews.org is reporting under the byline of "domestic intelligence reporter" Brian Harring that the Department of Defense is using a cynical tactic to mislead the public regarding the true death toll for American military personnel in Iraq. Harring claims he has an internal pdf. file from the D.O.D. which establishes that nearly 9000 Americans have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but that the official number has been held to 1713 by designating as Iraq deaths only those who perish on Iraqi soil. The remainder, he says, are military personnel who have died en route to Germany or in German hospitals-- casualties of the war, but not listed in the official death toll.

If this is true it would explain the apparent statistical discrepancy between dead and wounded. A combat action which produces nearly eight times as many officially wounded-- 13000 plus-- as officially dead...well, it's not the norm. It goes without saying it would also further jolt a public majority already disturbed by the war's "progress" and eager to see the troops come home.

How to validate or invalidate Harring's incendiary claims? In his report Harring asserts he will begin publishing, in sections, the Defense Department's official list of war dead from Iraq. Relatives and other loved ones of those whose lives are gone will be asked to examine the lists to see if the names of those they've lost appear there. The Defense Department has, according to Harring, properly notified the loved ones of those who have died in Germany or en route to hospital, but has neglected to inform them that the casualty is not a part of the official death toll.

This is the way to find out, and gradually we in the blogosphere may get a picture of whether this most cruel of deceptions has really taken place. You have to hope not. But in light of everything we've learned, do you think this is beyond them? An Administration which forbids photographs of returning coffins? An Administration whose President has yet to attend a single Iraq-related funeral or memorial? It appears almost nothing is beyond them.

There's more at the site. Harring also asserts more than 5500 American military personnel assigned to Iraq have deserted, most to Ireland and Canada. But I am at a loss to figure the origin of this site or the validity of its information without help, and that is what the rest of you can provide by taking a look, filtering it into the growing documentation of Iraq War deceit, and locating those who might be able to gather whether their loved one's death was honestly and fairly recorded for the act of combat heroism it may have been. In my heart I sincerely hope Harring is wrong.


Posted at 01:11 AM | email this post to a friend | permalink | comments
author bio | read all posts by Jim Lampley

Email this post to a friend
Your friend's email address:


Your email address:


Message (optional):



Comments
A Whois search doesn't offer anything useful:

Created On:04-Oct-2002 02:42:35 UTC
Last Updated On:05-Feb-2005 01:31:00 UTC
Expiration Date:04-Oct-2006 02:42:35 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Go Daddy Software, Inc. (R91-LROR)
Status:CLIENT DELETE PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT RENEW PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT UPDATE PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:GODA-01612766
Registrant Name:Registration Private
Registrant Organization:Domains by Proxy, Inc.

Posted by: Linkmeister at June 18, 2005 02:09 AM

Don't forget to add in the deaths of American mercenaries. While derided by the underpaid Marines, their deaths conveniently don't count either.


Posted by: Don P at June 18, 2005 02:47 AM

Mr. Lampley, I hope you stay on this case. If this were true, this could be a bigger scandal than all the memos in the world. If I know America at all, even hardcore conservative republicans would not stand by such a fraudulent and dishonorable treatment of our troops who gave their lives for this tragic war. You're used to questioning and standing up to big intimidating men (I'm a fan of yours, by the way), so you'd make a good man for the job. I hope people get the message and help this cause out. I'm with you, hopefully it's not true because that means many more our dead than we thought.

Posted by: Brett at June 18, 2005 04:46 AM

You won't go far wrong by being _________
1. cynical
2. skeptical
3. disgusted
4. crestfallen
5. angry
[choose one or more or all]

about the Bushitter policies, Jim. You will probably find out that reservists aren't counted in the official death number either. And it would not surprise me to discover that the stat on wounded is another lie.

To be fair, someone asked the Pentagon and its spokesman answered that the high wounded to dead ratio comes from efficient medevac resulting in saving more lives than in past wars. Even so, it is more like a lot of BOTH, isn't it?

Posted by: SamSnedegar at June 18, 2005 06:55 AM

The death toll of US soldiers in Iraq is higher than reported. They do not count those who die in non-combat deaths (directly at the hand of the enemy), so boys who are killed when a truck drives off the road to avoid a mine are not added to the total of "war dead".

To continue that logic, suicides and murders don't count either. If they now are ignoring post-battle deaths (after all, our medics failed to keep them alive) it may be that they justify this by hoping to mislead the enemy somehow.

Of course, the lives of 100,000 Iraquis don't merit mention.

WHAT is going on in Washington?
WHAT are they thinking?
Then again, the TBRNews blog could be misinformation. Some caution is prudent.


Posted by: Matt at June 18, 2005 07:54 AM

It wouldn't surprise me a bit if the DoD was cynically minimizing the number of deaths "in Iraq". But this guy Harring seems bogus to me. If you check the site he takes some uncalled for shots at folks that would be willing to help him check through the so-called 100-page list of war dead he has ("Yes, I'm working on a book.") and makes some vague excuse about why he's not putting the pdf document online.

However, there is a germ of an idea there. HuffPo should ask folks who lost a relative in Iraq to send in their name, rank, etc. Let's see if the HuffPo list matches the official one. On the other hand, you may get some bogus emails and it will be hard to ensure accuracy. (Harring is asking people to send in particulars about their war dead - how will HE ensure accuracy?)

Posted by: Fast Eddy at June 18, 2005 08:32 AM

on Monday I am calling my senators and congressman about this possibility and to check into it. This better not be true. Regardless, thank you for taking the time to write this article.

Posted by: karen doheny at June 18, 2005 10:24 AM

Thanks again, Jim, for another poignant post. If you die as a direct result of your injuries in a war, what honest government would not count you as a part of the official death toll? Looks like history is being rewritten in blood en route to, or in, hospitals.


Posted by: HR at June 18, 2005 11:02 AM

I seriously doubt this administration would flinch at manipulating the numbers for the sake of PR.

In fact, I'm sure any administration would do exactly the same thing.

I'm also sure that millions of taxpayer dollars go to think tanks that study precisely how to skew the statistics to put a shiny vaneer on all of their mistakes, even the ones that rob the citizenry of of their most basic right; life.

Complicit in this is the media who is made up of individuals that are more interested in their personal careers than any semblence of the truth.

The question is not whether the doctoring of the facts is true. It is. The question is, to the average citizen who serenely veg's out in front of the idiot box night after night, what difference does it make?

Posted by: jojo at June 18, 2005 11:17 AM

*IF* true, this is bigger than the Downing Street Memo, and a lot harder for the administration to ignore. I'll suspend judgement until this guy actually starts producing the report he says he has, but it's not like this kind of cover-up is hard to believe, given the way the Bush administration controls information.

Posted by: Tony C at June 18, 2005 11:26 AM

These soldiers all died in hospitals in Gemmany and the US:

Washington, Bennie J.
Frist, Luke P.
Jones, Michael D.
Garceau, Seth K.
Sutphin, Ernest Harold
Matthews, Clint Richard "Bones"
Vega, Michael W.
LaWare, Casey M.
Dickens, Tyler J.
Fox, Bradley C.
Dunham, Jason L.
Jenkins, Troy David
Little, Tommy S.
Holmes, James J.
Bordelon, Michael J.
Schmidt III, John T.
Chaney, William D.
Seesan, Aaron N.
Collins, Randy D.
Lambert, Jonathan W.
Bolding, Todd J.
Mendoza, Antonio
Mattek Jr., John J.
Latham, William T.
Martin, Stephen G.
Coons, James Curtis
McKinley, Robert L.
Neusche, Joshua M.
Mardis Jr., Paul C.
Engel, Mark E.
McCune, Donald R.
Colunga, Zeferino E.
Houghton, Andrew R.
Kirchhoff, David M.
Ivory, Craig S.
Thompson, Jarrett B.
Pinkston, Foster
Adams, Brandon E.
Prewitt, Tyler D.
Nolan, Allen
Ramos, Tamarra J.
Pettaway Jr., James L.
Baker, Ronald W.
Gadsden, Jonathan E.
Fisher, Paul F.
McVey, Otie Joseph
Jimenez, Linda C.
Downey, Michael A.
Tyrrell, Scott Matthew
Welke, Joseph T.
Heredia, Joseph J.
Edinger, Benjamin C.
Nolte, Nicholas S.
Smith, Michael A.
Pena, Javier Obleas-Prado
Young, Ryan C.
Renehan, Kyle J.
Nelson, Craig L.

Posted by: Michaelw at June 18, 2005 12:02 PM

This goes beyond telling lies. This is insanity.

Posted by: David Alison at June 18, 2005 12:55 PM

You people believe what you want to believe.
It is tragic that ANY humans are murdered anywhere in the world.
Yet, you turn the other way when dictators such as Saddam (or Kim Jong II , etc. etc.) are commiting murder on a daily basis in their own countries.
Be sure that when the current administration is out of office (ie Republicans) that you continue your quest for the truth as far as human rights and down -right murder are concerned. If you do so, then you are truly a humanitarian, and not just a liberal.

Karma

PS: Another thought, if you believe this story about American deaths as indisputable fact, how could you look at something say like the Michael Jackson case, or the past OJ case, etc. and not be outraged by their crimes against humanity. Oh, you say, they were found innocent? Remember this, just because you are found innocent in a court of law does not make you innocent at all.

Posted by: Karma Searfoss at June 18, 2005 01:30 PM


I am skeptical that 4 times as many soldiers have died in hospitals in Germany and US from wounds suffered in Iraq than have died in Iraq. The mortality rate from a battle or explosion or trauma (say car wrecks) in general must decline very quickly after the event is over and wounded are receiving medical care.

There are very good reasons why this war will produce a higher ratio of wounded to dead than earlier conflicts and they are obvious to anyone who thinks about it:

1) Advances in trauma care
2) Body Armour

I think those are good things, Jim. How about you?


Posted by: Buck Smith at June 18, 2005 01:38 PM

Jim, please do some research on the man behind the TBR website. "Walter Storch" is a pseudonym for Peter Stahl, a.k.a. Gregory Douglas, a man who has been thoroughly discredited. A simple google search will reveal all you need to know about this charlatan.

Posted by: Ashley at June 18, 2005 01:39 PM

I also sincerely hope you are wrong, but am very glad that this is being investigated. If true, there is NO excuse imagined or implied. These people died defending our country, and should ALL be honored.

Posted by: susana at June 18, 2005 02:02 PM

More Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld insdious deception. They are killing us and the economy.

Posted by: brett at June 18, 2005 02:39 PM

You have to contact your senators and reps. Our politicians don't want you thinking about 300 billion and counting spent much less about those who are killed in this charade of a war.

They would like very much for you to keep your attention glued to the unfortunate events in Aruba or the daily car chases rather than the Downing Steet Memo. It is unfortunate that more people don't read Huffington and or Anti-war.com and realize what a serious turn of events we are witnessing.

I don't want to sound dramatic but we are talking about nothing short of our freedom. These people are already talking about invading Iran.

Don

Posted by: Don at June 18, 2005 03:59 PM

From GlobalSecurity.org:
While we make every diligent effort to reconcile the casualties' name with the original incident notice, it is nonetheless possible for a few casualties to have been doublecounted. This is in contrast to the official DoD count, which appears to undercount US casualties and account for them only once the next-of-kin have been notified and the names publicly released. Casualties whose next-of-kin are not notified or cannot be contacted/located do not therefore appear to be counted in the official tally.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_casualties_notes.htm

It's a long article but worth a read. GS as has pretty stats and KIAs:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_casualties.htm

Posted by: hadenough at June 18, 2005 04:02 PM

The rumor that the DOD is deliberately under-reporting deaths, and at this point it is no more than a rumor, has been circulating for a while.

If there is anything to it, somebody somewhere needs to put verifiable evidence in front of the public.

Posted by: James E. Powell at June 18, 2005 04:14 PM

So, does anyone see any difference between the ways this type of accounting is done as compared to the "books in pot on stove" ala Enron, Arthur Anderson, et al? Manipulation of public perception for profit or political gain takes many forms, but is for the same ends.

I can picture commanding officers in Iraq meeting with medics to determine which injured soldiers aren't going to survive their injuries, and quickly loading any of those patients onto planes. As soon as the wheels leave the tarmac, it's no longer a "killed in Iraq." And sure, if it was only a fatality from a car wreck in Iraq? Well that isn't combat! I mean, in that case, the soldier is only thousands of miles from home, on orders to be in Iraq (or wherever the "war on terror" happens to be happening), under extreme stress just from the possibility of violence at every turn. How dare the military classify the worth of deaths under their command?!?! Anyone killed or injured while serving in the military is the full responsibility of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Powell, generals, et al, all the way up and down the chain of command, and all deserve to be honored for their service. And, it is disgraceful to be forced to call the following of obviously illegal orders "service." I don't know for what to vomit first!

Posted by: JC at June 18, 2005 04:14 PM

It appears that the news is catching up with the war in Iraq. Just as in the anti-war movement of Vietnam, at first blush, we were in because we didn't doubt our leaders. Then came the pictures and the stories, the fraggings and the defections, and finally, the constant discovery of one lie after another. One can only hope that we are at that point again where Americans of all stripes and colors will demand that this war too come to an end.

Posted by: rhbee at June 18, 2005 04:48 PM

My ex-husband was drafted into the Soviet Army and served in a helicopter group in Afghanistan in the mid-1980s. After the war, he helped to found a veterans group that fought for health care for returning vets, who the Soviet government would have preferred to ignore. He told me that the true casualties from that war were three times the official government number for precisely the same reason reported in this story. If a soldier died of his wounds anywhere outside the country of Afghanistan, he was not counted

Main Page - Tuesday, 06/22/05

    Message Board by American Patriot Friends Network [APFN]

    APFN MESSAGEBOARD ARCHIVES

    messageboard.gif (4314 bytes)