Over the past week, four more American servicemembers were killed in the recently resumed Iran war. Three U.S. Army soldiers died in an Iranian attack on a U.S. base in Jordan last Friday, and on Sunday, another Army soldier was killed during the disposal of a downed Iranian drone in Iraq. That raised the total of number U.S. war dead to 18, which is what the Pentagon’s casualties website listed as of Wednesday. A day later, the total on the website suddenly dropped down to 14, and when the New York Times investigated the change, it received conflicting answers as to why it had occurred. Three military officials said it was intentional, citing how the deaths happened after the now-aborted April cease-fire. A Pentagon press official said it was a mistake, citing “temporary data disruptions.” On Friday, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell similarly blamed “site errors.” It’s not at all clear why unnamed Pentagon officials said one thing and Pentagon press personnel said something different.
The website discrepancy is just the latest conspicuous example of what appears to be an ongoing effort by the Pentagon and the Trump administration to downplay American casualties and other high costs of this very unpopular war.
