Bill Berkowitz / Working for Change – 2004-08-04 16:52:24
http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=17415
MNF-I PUBLIC AFFAIRS
COALITION PRESS INFORMATION CENTER
BAGHDAD, Iraq
914 360 5071/5076
DNVT 302-550-2522/23
Aug. 3, 2004
Release 040803c
Blast kills two Soldiers in Baghdad
BAGHDAD – Two Task Force Baghdad Soldiers were killed and two were wounded when an improvised explosive device detonated around 11 p.m. Aug. 2.
The wounded were evacuated to a military medical facility for treatment.
The names of the deceased Soldiers are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
The incident is under investigation.
* * * * *
MNF-I PUBLIC AFFAIRS
COALITION PRESS INFORMATION CENTER
BAGHDAD, Iraq
914 360 5071/5076
Aug. 3, 2004
Release 040803d
UPDATE
Second Marine dies of wounds received in action Monday
FALLUJAH, Iraq – An additional Marine assigned to I Marine Expeditionary Force died of wounds received in action Aug. 2 in the Al Anbar Province while conducting security and stability operations. This brings the total to two.
The name of the deceased is being withheld pending next-of-kin notification.
* * * * *
MNF-I PUBLIC AFFAIRS
COALITION PRESS INFORMATION CENTER
BAGHDAD, Iraq
914 360 5071/5076
DNVT 302-550-2522/23
Aug. 3, 2004
Release 040803j
Soldier dies in non-combat related incident
BAGHDAD – A Task Force Baghdad Soldier died in a vehicle accident today. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin. The incident is under investigation.
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911 and Is Anyone Counting?
When the 900th US military service member died in Iraq in late July, there was no U. spokesperson standing in front of television cameras commenting on the death. Since there are no more daily press briefings conducted by the US in Baghdad, news of the US dead now flies by in a series of understated press releases issued from Iraq by the Coalition Press Information Center.
More US service members died in Iraq during July, the month following the so-called handover of power to the Iraqis, than in June, the month before the handover. While the handover was aimed at putting an Iraqi face on the US occupation, it certainly hasn’t reduced the death toll among U.S. soldiers.
As of this writing, the death toll has risen to 919.
The Death Toll by States
Alabama, 19; Alaska, 1: American Samoa, 2; Arizona, 18; Arkansas, 13; California, 108; Colorado, 12; Connecticut, 8: Delaware, 6; Dist. Of Columbia, 2; Florida, 41; Georgia, 22; Guatemala, 1; Hawaii, 1; Idaho, 5; Illinois, 37; Indiana, 20; Iowa, 12; Kansas, 12; Kentucky, 13; Louisiana, 13; Maine, 6; Marianas Protectorate, 1; Maryland, 10; Massachusetts, 19; Michigan, 28; Minnesota, 10; Mississippi, 13; Missouri, 17; Montana, 2; Nebraska, 13; Nevada, 2; New Hampshire, 3; New Jersey, 22; New Mexico, 3; New York, 37; North Carolina, 22; North Dakota, 6; Ohio, 29; Oklahoma, 15; Oregon, 20; Pennsylvania 49; Puerto Rico, 9; Rhode Island, 5; South Carolina, 18; South Dakota, 6; Tennessee, 21; Texas, 78; Utah, 4; Vermont, 9; Virgin Islands, 2; Virginia, 23; Washington, 17; West Virginia, 6: Wisconsin, 19; Wyoming, 4.
For a map of the deaths by city: http://icasualties.org/oif/US_CITY.aspx
During the week that 900th US service member died, other War in Iraq/War against Terrorism stories dominated the news and the headlines:
On the morning of July 22, 9/11 Commission Chairman Tom Kean, the former Republican governor of New Jersey, presented a copy of the Commission’s report to President Bush, the man who had reluctantly appointed the Commission in the first place.
And on the same day another report — made public by the Army’s inspector general at what has been characterized as a hastily called Senate hearing on July 22 — “found 94 cases of confirmed or alleged abuse of prisoners by US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan since the fall of 2001,” the Associated Press reported.
While the deaths of Iraqis have not been of particular interest to the US media since the war began, it was surprising that the 900th death of a US service member in Iraq didn’t rate either front-page coverage or more than just a passing mention on the news networks and 24/7 cable news channels. In fact, news regarding the identity of the 900th US service member to die in Iraq was relegated to deep inside the first section of many daily newspapers.
Owing to the late arrival of the information, I was told by a San Francisco Chronicle news editor, the newspaper stuffed the news of the 900th death in with a number of other short blurbs related to the war in Iraq, on page A13 under the headline “5 US troops die outside Baghdad.” The Chronicle News Services report read:
The US military said today that two US Marines and two US soldiers were killed in action in Anbar Province, a Sunni- dominated area west of Baghdad, and another soldier died in a roadside bombing today north of Baghdad.
The casualties bring the death toll of US service members in Iraq to 900.
In Anbar Province, two Marines were killed in separate incidents Tuesday while conducting “security and stability operations.” One soldier was killed Monday and a second died Monday of wounds.
With the Republican Party’s Convention approaching, the last thing GOP spinmeisters want to deal with is the number of dead US service members in Iraq. In June, the month before the handover, 42 US service members died. In July, the month after the handover, 54 US service members died. As of this writing (August 3) 7 US service members have died this month.
Should the rate of deaths continue, the 1,000th US service member will die in Iraq around a week after the Republican National Convention in New York City ends — shortly before the 3rd anniversary of September 11.
Bill Berkowitz is a longtime observer of the conservative movement. His WorkingForChange column Conservative Watch documents the strategies, players, institutions, victories and defeats of the American Right.
For more please see the Bill Berkowitz archive
http://www.workingforchange.com/column_lst.cfm?AuthrId=1
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