As 10 U.S. troops were killed in Iraq on Memorial Day alone, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace, is oblivious to how many actually been killed in this absurd farce total so far…
As RAW STORY, who pointed out Pace’s grotesque and embarrassing error reported, 3,455 troops had been killed in Iraq at the time of Pace’s statement. That number long ago eclipsed the 2,996 (as opposed to the “more than 3,000 Americans”) killed on 9/11.
As of this morning, the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq is up to 3,466. But hey, it’s just a few more dead people, so why quibble?
As well, 209 of those killed on 9/11 were not Americans, but rather foreign nationals. Which doesn’t make a difference, other than Pace failed to include the hundreds of thousands of non-Americans which have been killed in his war.
Pace’s numbers also fail to account for the more than 900 contractors reported to have been killed in Iraq, though that number is rarely reported by anyone.
“At least 146 contract workers were killed in Iraq in the first three months of the year,” the NY Times recently reported, “That brings the total number of contractors killed in Iraq to at least 917, along with more than 12,000 wounded in battle or injured on the job, according to government figures and dozens of interviews.”
And yes, Pace also failed to account for the 309 dead U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
All of which brings the most conservative grand total of dead U.S. citizens up to 4,675. All in brilliant retaliation for the 2,787 killed on 9/11. Heckuva job, Bushies.
One might think a 4-star Marine General serving as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would feel a responsibility to have an accurate understanding of such statistics and be able to report them a bit more accurately — on Memorial Day of all days — even as they change by the hour. One, apparently, would be wrong to make such an assumption.
CORRECTION: We originally reported that Pace was an Army General. He is actually a Marine. We regret the error, are happy to clarify it, and look forward to Pace’s correcting his own error.
I believe all their numbers are wrong.
I’ve always got my numbers from cryptome.org (This is the second time I’ve said this)
http://cryptome.org/mil-dead-iqw.htm
Well I certainly don’t disagree with you on your critisism here, but you should also get your facts straight. General Pace is a Marine not in the Army.
Thanks, Doug. Will correct.
Talkie, talkie…walkie, walkie…
SAME SHIT DIFFERENT DAY!
The Joint Chief of Staff sounds like he’s been SMOKING some joints!
It’s so confusing when ya juggling multiple sets of numbers, lies, etc . . .
Hey, who’s counting? Perhaps they are using a Dubai model Diebold voting machine to keep the tallies?
Hey, as far as the neo-cons and their supporters are concerned, “fodder is fodder.” You measure it in TONS, not number of lives and familes destroyed.
The count of “casualties” in the Iraq/Afghanastan wars and occupations is reaching close to ONE MILLION, unless you choose to bigotedly and nationalistically count only OUR “innocent dead” and not ALL the human lives lost and destroyed.