US military suspected of concealing casualties in operations against Iran

[Global Times Comprehensive Report] The U.S. Department of Defense stated on the 21st that a U.S. soldier went missing on the 17th during an attack on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, which is targeted by Iran. This individual is "believed to be dead." As a result, the number of U.S. military deaths acknowledged by the Pentagon has risen to 18 since the large-scale military operations against Iran by the U.S. and Israel began at the end of February, with the total number of casualties since the resurgence of fighting in July approaching 100.

However, there have been many questions raised within the U.S. regarding the official casualty figures and other war information released by the U.S. military. The New York Times reported on the 20th, citing anonymous U.S. officials, that prior to the airstrike on the U.S. military base in Jordan on the 17th, which resulted in several casualties, Iran had launched three additional attacks on the base, causing injuries to dozens of U.S. personnel and damaging several helicopters. These officials revealed that the Pentagon did not publicly disclose these attacks, nor did it announce the resulting casualties and equipment losses.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell responded by saying that the U.S. military has not concealed or distorted the casualty situation of U.S. forces in this war. In a statement, he said, "The claim of concealing casualties is purely fabricated, aimed at further exacerbating the pain and anxiety of the American public after the deaths of three U.S. service members."

However, similar claims have persisted within the U.S. According to a report by the British Independent on the 21st, two U.S. soldiers previously accused the Pentagon of "downplaying the severity of their injuries," while a U.S. military spokesman denied these allegations, stating that the families misunderstood the extent of the injuries. The report stated that the military spokesman explained, "In the military, injuries vary widely, from minor ankle sprains during routine training to incidents completely unrelated to combat operations. If data is extracted without providing contextual information, misleading and incomplete conclusions will be drawn."

In addition, the attitude of U.S. military officials towards publicly disclosing casualty figures has also sparked public dissatisfaction. One U.S. military official stated that the Central Command is not obligated to disclose information about injured U.S. personnel, especially when the injured can quickly return to duty. Another U.S. military official indicated that the Pentagon has no reason to disclose "information that could help Iran adjust its attack strategies," such as the specific losses suffered by U.S. forces after ballistic missile and drone attacks on bases in Jordan and other Middle Eastern locations where thousands of U.S. troops are stationed. U.S. officials believe that for the same reason, the Central Command has recently stopped publishing the number of targets struck by U.S. forces inside Iran on a daily basis.

The U.S. Stars and Stripes reported on the 21st that typically, the number of combat casualties for U.S. forces is published in the Department of Defense's casualty analysis system, but this database is clearly lagging. Before the latest data released by Parnell, the database showed that no one was injured throughout July. As of the 21st, the database only indicated that 32 people were injured in July, far below the "nearly 100" announced by Parnell. The system shows that the U.S. military's "Epic Fury" operation resulted in 18 U.S. military deaths and 447 injuries. Parnell's latest statement indicated that the number of injuries "exceeds 500."     

A poll released by Reuters at the end of June indicated that only about 1/4 of Americans support military action against Iran, while most Americans are concerned about the economic impact of the conflicts in the Middle East. (Chen Shan)