FAIR alert, Many Deaths Left Out of Iraq Story

[G_j]

**also, I found this website included here to be very good, >Iraq Coalition Casualty Count
http://lunaville.org/warcasualties/Summary.aspx
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FAIR ACTION ALERT: Many Deaths Left Out of Iraq Story

http://www.fair.org/activism/iraq-casualties-networks.html

August 20, 2003

With U.S. forces under consistent attack in Iraq, months after George W. Bush declared "major combat" over on May 1, media routinely refer to the number of American soldiers killed. But many of those reports dramatically undercount the actual number of U.S. deaths since Bush's May 1 address.

A recent NPR report (8/7/03) was typical: "These two deaths bring to 55 the number of U.S. forces killed in combat since May 1st, when President Bush declared major fighting had ended." A survey of transcripts from some leading broadcast news outlets--ABC World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News and National Public Radio-- found numerous reports that used the same phrasing. These media are making a distinction-- one rarely explained to audiences-- between combat and non-combat deaths, choosing in most cases to only report the former.

NPR used this formulation earlier this month (8/3/03): "The U.S. has suffered more than 50 combat fatalities since major fighting ended in May." The following day (8/4/03), it omitted the usual qualifier, rendering the report inaccurate: "So far, 52 American soldiers have died since major combat officially ended in Iraq" (8/4/03). In reality, the total U.S. dead was about twice that figure, as tallied by the website Iraq Coalition Casualty Count (http://lunaville.org/warcasualties/Summary.aspx).

The broadcast TV networks tend to feature the lower number in their reports as well. "The total killed since President Bush declared the major combat over: 56 Americans," declared Campbell Brown (NBC Nightly News, 8/8/03). In another reference to Bush's May 1 speech, ABC's John Cochran reported (World News Tonight, 8/8/03): "Since the president gave that assurance, 59 Americans have been killed, 399 wounded." CBS Evening News reported (8/8/03) that since Bush's comments, "56 U.S. troops have been killed, including one last night, a guard from the 82nd Airborne, shot while on patrol in Baghdad."

...more..

[TioDiego]

1. There is that "major" word again.

I'm getting perturbed. Dang it.

[TahitiNut]

2. The Pretzledent exercises his perquisite ...

... to "revise and extend his remarks" and history itself, ignoring any objections (or facts) whatsoever.

[Brian Sweat]

4. I'm confused.

I didn't see Schleprock's stunt on the carrier. Did he say "major combat" at the time or is "major" being added after the fact?

[G_j]

5. it seems

the quote originaly posted at the WH website did not contain the word 'major', now (mysteriously) it does.

[TahitiNut]

6. Nope. Never did. Wasn't prudent.

Commander Codpiece eschews qualifying adjectives, favoring instead the comprehensive and extreme. He's been at war with ambiguity his entire life. Ambiguity strains both his brain and his attention span.

[G_j]

7. Commander Codpiece ...LOL!

a well worded post... and true..

[G_j]

3. I noticed that also

NPR and the WH used it. Is there some sort of 'memo' going around?