Pentagon Is Undercounting US Death Toll Amid Iran War, Washington Post Reports
Por Brett Wilkins — Truthout
The report raises questions regarding the military’s line-of-duty investigations following service member deaths.
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The Trump administration — which calls itself the “most transparent administration in history” — is once again under fire for its lack of transparency after The Washington Post on Friday published a report in which US officials said more American troops have died during the Iran War than the Pentagon has disclosed.
Five officials familiar with the Pentagon’s internal casualty accounting told the Post under condition of anonymity that at least 22 US service members have died since Trump launched the Iran War on February 28 — four more than the 18 fatalities currently listed in the Pentagon’s public Defense Casualty Analysis System, or DCAS. A sixth official put the number at 23.
The officials said that not all of the additional deaths were necessarily caused directly by Iranian attacks, but rather involved US personnel stationed in the Middle East.
The Pentagon says 18 U.S. troops have died in Trump’s Iran war. But new reporting from six U.S. officials with direct access to the Pentagon’s casualty data, says the real number is higher. Five put the toll at at least 22, while one put it at 23.
This isn’t the first time the Pentagon’s counting has come under scrutiny. Earlier this year, four fallen soldiers were reclassified off the official Iran war death toll and into “overseas operations” casualties, because they were killed during Trump’s short-lived ceasefire.
When the government hides the true cost of its war, it misleads the country and dishonors the fallen. Every service member who gives their life deserves to be recognized, anything less is unacceptable.
https://t.co/sWJKjGZzWvThe report raises questions regarding transparency, as well as the military’s line-of-duty investigations following service member deaths that can affect survivors’ benefits.
Retired US Army Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson asked some of those questions in a Friday Substack post directed at Hegseth and calling the reported obfuscation an “unforgivable sin”:
Responding on social media to the Post report, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote, “This is DISGUSTING and FAKE. A complete LIE.”
“Shame on The Washington Post — they’re worse than Iranian state media,” Hegseth added.
Hegseth’s denial follows earlier controversies over the Pentagon’s casualty reporting.
In July, the department’s public database briefly excluded four US service members killed during renewed fighting, even though the Pentagon had separately announced the deaths. Officials subsequently blamed the discrepancy on technical problems.
Also in July The New York Times revealed that the Pentagon hid dozens of US military injuries from Iranian strikes on bases in Jordan.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), a disabled Iraq War veteran, wrote on Bluesky in response to the Post report that “22 of our service members have been killed in Trump’s illegal war. Not 18 like we were told.”
“The Pentagon hid four more heroes’ deaths from us for months,” she added. “Congress cannot let them get away with this.”
To that end, Duckworth and other Democratic lawmakers in both the House and Senate have introduced legislation aimed at preventing the Pentagon from manipulating troop casualty data.
Last month, Duckworth led 17 upper chamber colleagues in introducing the Honoring the Sacrifices of Our Troops in War Act, which her office said came partly in response to the Trump administration’s “shameless attempt to downplay the damage done and evade accountability to the American people.”
Outgoing Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Thursday separately moved to force a House vote on impeaching Hegseth, accusing the defense secretary of violating provisions of the War Powers Resolution by continuing hostilities without congressional authorization.
After several failed attempts, both houses of Congress in June passed a war powers resolution directing Trump to withdraw US forces from hostilities with Iran. Trump did not comply.
The number of US troops killed and wounded in the Iran War pales in comparison to Iranian casualty figures. Thousands of Iranians — including more than 3,500 civilians, more than 380 of them children — have been killed and tens of thousands more wounded by US and Israeli attacks since February 28, according to Iranian and international officials.
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Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams.
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Fonte: Truthout
