Pentagon Hides Total Number of Americans Killed, Wounded in Iraq

If you click on the link in this entry's title, you can read an article appearing in the Washington Post on Saturday, June 16, 2007, about the increasing number of employees of private security companies who are being killed or wounded in Iraq. The article points out that this number is unknown since the Pentagon doesn't always include them in its official statistics. The number that you keep hearing on the news is the total number of American military personnel killed in Iraq. It doesn't include employee of private security companies since they are not in the United States military.

The amount of work that is being done by these private security companies is shown by this quote from the report:

The security industry's enormous growth has been facilitated by the U.S. military, which uses the 20,000 to 30,000 contractors to offset chronic troop shortages. Armed contractors protect all convoys transporting reconstruction materiel, including vehicles, weapons and ammunition for the Iraqi army and police. They guard key U.S. military installations and provide personal security for at least three commanding generals, including Air Force Maj. Gen. Darryl A. Scott, who oversees U.S. military contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A comparison of the casualities for employees of private security companies to military forces is shown by this quote from the article:

The U.S. Labor Department reported that ArmorGroup has lost 26 employees in Iraq, based on insurance claims. Sources close to the company said the figure is nearly 30. Only three countries in the 25-nation coalition -- the United States, Britain and Italy -- have sustained more combat-related deaths.

Private security company employees are sustaining more casualities since their use is increasing as the American military escalates its operations because of Bush's surge. This makes sense since some of these private security contracors are providing security for conveys furnishing supplies for American military forces.

So, the next time you hear a news report about the total number of Americans killed in Iraq, keep in mind that the number only represents American military deaths. It doesn't represent the total number of Americans killed and it doesn't reflect the total number of American families who have lost a relative because of Bush's stupidity.