Reply #1: Bingo........

[stewert]

Media Underplays U.S. Death Toll in Iraq

Any way you look at it, the news is bad enough. According to Thursday's press and television reports, 33 U.S.
soldiers have now died in combat since President Bush declared an end to the major fighting in the war on May 2.
This, of course, is a tragedy for the men killed and their families, and a problem for the White House.

But actually the numbers are much worse -- and rarely reported by the media.

According to official military records, the number of U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq since May 2 is actually 85.
This includes a staggering number of non-combat deaths. 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.

Nevertheless, the media continues to report the much lower figure of 33 as if those are the only deaths that
count.

A Web site called Iraq Coalition Casualty Count (http://lunaville.org/warcasualties/Summary.aspx) is tracking the
deaths, by whatever cause, of U.S. military personnel in Iraq, based on official Pentagon and CENTCOM press
releases and Army Times and CNN casualty trackers. Their current count is 85 since May 2.

Looking at the entire war, there was much fanfare Thursday over the fact that the latest U.S. combat death this
week pushed the official total to 148 -- finally topping the 147 figure for Gulf War 1. However, according to the
Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, the total number of all U.S. deaths, combat and otherwise, in Iraq is actually 224.

Full Story:

http://www.mediainfo.com/editorandpublisher/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=
1935586