Text 699, 140 rader
Skriven 2004-08-05 03:25:02 av RICHARD JOHNSON (1:10/345)
Ärende: Iraq - Out of sight, out of mind
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919 and counting

Bill Berkowitz - WorkingForChange

08.04.04 - 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.

* * * * *

When the 900th U.S. military service member died in Iraq in late July, there
was no U.S. spokesperson standing in front of television cameras commenting on
the death. Since there are no more daily press briefings conducted by the U.S.
in Baghdad, news of the U.S. dead now flies by in a series of understated press
releases issued from Iraq by the Coalition Press Information Center.

More U.S. 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 U.S.
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 U.S. 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 U.S.
soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan since the fall of 2001,ö the Associated Press
reported.

While the deaths of Iraqis have not been of particular interest to the U.S.
media since the war began, it was surprising that the 900th death of a U.S.
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 U.S. 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 U.S. troops die outside Baghdad.ö The Chronicle News
Services report read:

The U.S. military said today that two U.S. Marines and two U.S. 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 U.S. service members in Iraq to 900.

In Anbar Province, two Marines were killed in separate incidents Tuesday while
conducting ˙security and stability operations.ö 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 U.S. service members in
Iraq. In June, the month before the handover, 42 U.S. service members died. In
July, the month after the handover, 54 U.S. service members died. As of this
writing (August 3) 7 U.S. service members have died this month.

Should the rate of deaths continue, the 1,000th U.S. 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.

(c) 2004 Working Assets Online. All rights reserved

URL: http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=17415



 
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