Iraq American Death Count: Public Largely Unaware

A new poll from the Pew Research Center finds a staggering drop in the public awareness about fatalities in Iraq:

Public awareness of the number of American military fatalities in Iraq has declined sharply since last August. Today, just 28% of adults are able to say that approximately 4,000 Americans have died in the Iraq war. As of March 10, the Department of Defense had confirmed the deaths of 3,974 U.S. military personnel in Iraq.

In August 2007, 54% correctly identified the fatality level at that time (about 3,500 deaths). In previous polls going back to the spring of 2004, about half of respondents could correctly estimate the number of U.S. fatalities around the time of the survey.

(Note: the number of U.S. deaths confirmed by the Department of Defense is 3,974. Thirteen U.S. deaths are pending confirmation, for a total of 3,987).

By contrast, 84% of Americans knew that Oprah Winfrey was supporting Sen. Barack Obama for President.

The study also finds that over the same period of time, the media coverage dropped to only 3% of news:

The drop in awareness comes as press attention to the war has waned. According to the News Content Index conducted by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, the percentage of news stories devoted to the war has sharply declined since last year, dropping from an average of 15% of the newshole in July to just 3% in February.

Click here to read the entire poll.

Comments

[gonavy]

The media were all over this when the news was all bad. Now things are looking alot better. (I'm not saying it's a day at the park over there, so don't bite my head off) The MSM is a business and blood sells.

I would love to hear about the progress. The individual stories. The returning refugees.

BTW Those of us who care, do know the count.

[johnmorgan]

But the news isn't really better. I've been hearing many stories about deaths in Iraq.

[ChristianEcon.com]

If blood sells, why has the war been so sanitized and censored by the American msm?

America was much free-er during the Vietnam era, as the war was shown in living color (well, for those who had color tv sets) on the nightly news, which helped to turn public opinion against it more rapidly.

[Giordano Bruno]

America's very own Pravda, the lazy bastion of journalists who write articles in between advertisements in modern journals and web sites, have let us down. There is no fourth estate anymore. Journalists have confused their profession with entertainers, and shills. There is no longer a time honored tradition of reporting the truth. The President has insisted that photos such as the one that accompanies this article not be shown. Americans don't need to face the brutal and graphic images they did during the Vietnam conflict.

We so badly need a Daniel Ellsberg or someone with some temerity to get us refocused on the sad fact that young Americans and Iraqis of all ages are dying every day because of a policy which is based on a purposeful distortion of the truth.

This administration's conduct is not only scandalous, it is vicous and very effective. Where they have failed in Iraq to bring a resolution of the conflict, they have succeeded Stateside in their attempt to hide the truth from the American public, and offered instead pathetic platitudes designed to evoke emotional responses of hatred and patriotism.

[Careful]

If the MSM is so so so bad, where are you getting information from about the conditions in Iraq?

[rmreddicks]

How about tenacity as opposed to temerity? And add in a bit of courage. Won't see it on the front page or op-ed. We're talking lickspittle.

[KOisGod]

The winter soldier meetings are going on Thursday March 13 to Sunday March 16.

News of this unfolding event can be found at this site: http://ivaw.org/wintersoldier

[GnitenGoodLk]

If you were committing a crime would you want it televised?

[SmootyBooty]

What pisses me off the most is the same administration that refuses to allow photographers at Dover so that the public can see the coffins calls me un-American and says I don't support the troops. We should have had a draft if they wanted this goddamn war so freakin' much!

And the public sleeps...

[eniobob]

At the end of the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer each night he acknowledges the soldiers who have died in Iraq.He and Lionel on AirAmerica are the only ones that I know of that do it.

[DASM]

And the sensational story on Spitzer continues to be the #1 story on almost all sites & networks. Pathetic. Nearly 4000 soldiers dead, the U.S. perhaps heading to war with Iran now that the only officer against it has resigned, the economy in the toilet, the Bush admin. burying an important report saying there were NO ties between Saddam & Al-Qaeda, and every newscast is all a-twitter about Spitzer & 'his girl'. The media needs to be shaken up so that they report real & important news. Not the sensational crap. Of course, the Republicans love this as it takes the heat away from them for the real news stories listed above.

[Beckyjo]

This is outrageous!!!! I do know approximately how many troops have died because "This Week" on ABC on Sunday morning always lists the casualties for the previous week. The Pentagon should be posting names each day, and all news programs should be reporting them. The troops were sent to Iraq under false pretenses, and the least we can do is acknowledge their untimely deaths. It is shameful, and their families must feel utterly betrayed. I learned just last week that many of the troops returning have been diagnosed with complete or partial deafness due to explosions they are close to. Also I learned today from a newspaper that a young soldier who had suffered head injuries was found dead inside a culvert . It was obvious he had thought he was under attack and sought cover. He was found several days later. It is obscene that these young people are dead or dying for a war that never was necessary.

[dartagnan]

"The surge is working! The surge is working!" the Smirk cried. And the White House press corpse listened unto him, and declared: "Verily, The Surge hath worked, for the Smirk hath proclaimed it so." And it came to pass that the war becameth a Non-Story, and it draggeth on and on and on, war without end, forever and ever, amen. Thus saith the Smirk.

[ColoradoDan]

.... All this insanity of our Nation ... foreclosures, death, war, while war profiteers and oil robbers make trillions.

..... and Bush is tap dancing for the Press and singing songs about how Scooter and the Gang avoided any responsibility.

Caligula time in the US of A folks.

[truthyguy]

And Fearless Speaker Pelosi, as her first official act, took impeachment off the table.

[timothe]

I know. Let's make sure those damn oil companies make a dime more than we want them to make. That'll fix the problem!!

Uh...no. It will not. When oil companies decide that drilling for oil is not as profitable as other businesses, they will stop drilling for oil. Then, we will really be dependent on Russia and Saudia Arabia and Venezuela to maintain any semblance of the life we live today. Basically, we will be taking all of our economic power and handing it over to people we didn't elect. As bad as Bush or Clinton may be, I'd rather have them dictate how I live than Putin or Chavez.

Your comment was alarmist and ridiculous.

[gonavy]

Hey maybe you can talk to the Environmental Lobby and tell them to ease up so we can tap our own oil reserves. Them we won't be so dependent on the Middle East oil.

If you people put the same amount of energy into solving the energy problem as you do complaining about the oil companies, then we just might have a solution.

BTW Those bad oil companies, who make all that money, they are owned by stockholders. You guys make it sound like one big fat man is earning all that money.

[GnitenGoodLk]

Oil is not a limitless commodity. The sooner we piece together alternate energy solutions the better off we will be. All of those countries will eventually be limited by their emerging reliance on massive amounts of oil to keep their economies from collapsing when supplies are interrupted/decreased. It would be wise for the US to take the lead on transitioning as much of our economy and population to alternative solutions now to bring our demand to domestically sustainable levels. It is not a matter of if, but when China, Russia, India et al will be in our position. To choose the robber baron route exclusively is short sighted and does nothing to solve the crisis.

We will always need the oil companies, it would be wise to bring them home and have them support the US effort to drill oil in our own territories than rely on other nations. They've scrambled to keep the US afloat, it's time we did our part and helped them stay afloat by reducing population demand for non-industrial oil derivative products as much as possible, and opening up our states to exploration.

Just my take.

[timeforachangenow]

"I'd rather have them dictate how I live than Putin or Chavez"

the TRUE definition of a "Dictator"

[OldOne]

72000 casualties, wound and dead. However, since there are as many private contractors as their are regular Army and Marine Corp, and most deaths are due to roadside bombs or snipers, we must double the number of dead to approximately 8000, and total wounded to 144000. Yet the cowards, our political "leaders" , who are making a human sacrifice of Americans continue on with their life as if nothing is wrong.

[castlerider]

The reason this is not being talked about or dealt with is because of greed.

We could easily call in other nations to take over reconstruction duties and let them in on the lucrative contracts while we begin to pull out and bring our boys home, but since the beginning, Bush and Cheney have wanted it all to themselves, or America, thinking it would be good for our economy.
Since because of their two faced folly trying to look like liberators when they are actually the equivalent of modern day pirates and it will take years and years for a profit to ever be seen, they have acquinced to the situation where we will have to be there for the duration.

[timothe]

So far, the Chinese have won the vast majority of oil contracts while a number of nations are splitting the infrastructure business...led by China, again. In fact, if you really care about our country, you should be mad as hell that we've spent all of these resources and lives in Iraq, yet we don't get preferential treatment from the Iraqi government for the rebuilding of their nation.

Silly poster. Think next time, ok?

[FatherOfAllLife]

The "fed" is printing out money 24/7
The "fed" flooding America (printing out money 24/7) with money caused the "great" depression (part of the "fed" and grampa bu$h trying to turn America into a FASCIST country)
America's industry base kept America from going under.
That's why they shipped our industries overseas, they don't want to make that mistake again.

Prescott bu$h could (SHOULD) have been shot for treason for his efforts to make America a FASCIST country.

The bu$h CRIME FAMILY IS STILL TRYING TO TURN AMERICA INTO A FASCIST POLICE STATE.

[Amennyc]

There's a war going on???? I thought the only drama this country had to endure was a mans sex life and some other guy taking steroids. Where have I been.... watching the MSM...perhaps.

[compassionone]

Would HuffingtonPost.com consider keeping a counter of Number of Deaths visible on the top of the website? And we need not just US troops, also Innocent Iraqi citizens.

Total US: 4001
Total Innocent Iraq: ????

[nypoet22]

i kid you not, a 13 year old student of mine today in class said, "where is there a war? we're not in a war now, right?"

[chinacatsunflower]

i sure hope you opened the floor for a current events discussion ..... if i were a teacher i would try to squeeze that in at least once a week.....

[Polar]

Sooooooooo...
Whatever happened to the calls for impeachment?
Why aren't our leaders in Congress calling for it?
Perhaps because they don't want to remind people that they are the ones who gave him authorization and to date have not shut off the money financing this war?
Perhaps because they would have to explain why they didn't ask more questions?
Perhaps because they would have to proof that the CIA has been providing false intel all along and Bush was duped along with them?
Congress controls the purse strings. They have the power but not the will.

[damnadamson]

bang on .... there is no way they would want to open that can of worms before the election ... maybe afterwards bush and cheney will end up in gitmo, but i highly doubt it !!!

[gonavy]

Pres McCain will close Gitmo

[studlyguy]

I guess will wait till 4000 before will think about it,but the Bush regime is doing their best to keep us preoccupied with the economic disaster they created hitting the American people,want to talk about distraction

[fact finder]

studlyguy; you are right. Smoke and mirrors work every time politicians want to cover or divert attention from the true story.There is so much smoke in the air right now we can not even see the mirrors.