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

[Nyland8]

None of the things that define a “military victory” remain to be achieved by staying in Iraq. There is no government to overthrow. There is no dictator to unseat. There is no regime that will surrender. There are no uniformed armies to roust and imprison or kill. We will never look down our gun-sights at the “last remaining insurgent”. The hindmost suicide bomber is not waiting in the wings to exhale the final breath of the resistance.





Even our own president, an idiot, knows enough to know that no further military triumph remains to be achieved in Iraq.




That is why his “vision” of the future of Iraq is similar to that of Israel … in other words, suppression of at least one segment of the population by another segment … and insurgent bombings as far as the eye can see.




That is why, after more than four years of occupation, he has yet to offer any definition of victory … because any definition of victory would offer a metric by which to gauge his utter and irredeemable failure.




That is why, when Bush still had more than two years to go in his second term, he stated that no matter what happens in Iraq, it will be left for some other president to pull us out … because no set of circumstances can occur in the remainder of his term that can ever be defined as “Mission Accomplished in Iraq”. It’s impossible – and he knows it. “Mission Accomplished” was something that happened more than 4 years ago when he “succeeded” in dragging America into a war without end.




No remaining achievable military victory when we can finally say to our troops, “Time to come home, be welcomed as heroes and march in a tickertape parade!”




Capiche?




Whatever war-ending military victory Iraq had to offer we achieved more than four years ago when Bush stood on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln and Bush told the nation that hostilities had ceased.




That was it.




That was the moment.




Comprende?





Everything after that is failure. Everyday following that peak has been downhill. Everything since that moment has been a waste of time, a waste of money and a waste of human life, both Iraqi and American. Sure, we can still continue to kill people. Sure, we can continue to “win every battle”, as General Casey is so fond of reminding us. (We must be winning in Iraq. In more than three years of fighting, we’ve never lost a single battle. (8 rolls his eyes)) Sure, we can continue to lose every heart and mind … at least those that haven’t already died or been driven out of their country. But committing genocide against Iraqi insurgents who want us to leave their country is not what we should be doing. It isn’t what most Americans think our country should be doing. Our “bombing the village in order to save it” days should have long been over … more than thirty years ago. The “Nation of Iraq”, if that phrase is to have any meaning at all, must be won or lost by the Iraqis themselves. It isn’t something we can “win” for them.




So what is left for us? What remains to be done?




Exit.




You want victory? Here’s how to get it. Your own leader Bush told you more than 8 years ago.




"Victory means exit strategy and it's important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is."
--GW Bush, Houston Chronicle on April 9, 1999




Get out of Iraq.



Now.



Today.



Anything less is just staring at a neo-conman mirage.





8

[oracle99]

THIS WAR MUST END! AMERICA MUST STOP IT'S IMPERIALISTIC WAYS! The number of americans that have lost their lives is terrible, but the number of Iraqis is said to be over 100,000 people. How can we hope to spread Democracy by killing and imprisoning people in their own country? We should be ashamed.

[GodfryDaniel]

Welcome to the United States of Idiots.

[JoJoKewl]

hydenorhare See Profile I'm a Fan of hydenorhare

If you talk about fatalities you have to talk about surge success ... unless you are in the MSM or The Huffington Post.

The violence level is going back up. Read the news lately??? It was just a lull. The Surge has failed.

[hydenorhare]

With that logic and in your world, does a unseasonably cool day mean global waming is over?

[whathehell]

The surge has been a success in keeping the war under wraps and out of the news. Out of sight, out of mind. That's why 75% of the voting public is oblivious to the death count, or the truth about the abject failure that is Iraq. It seems a concerted effort to make the Republicans a palatable ticket in November, while Clinton and her supporters chip away at Obama.

[timothe]

As insurgency strongholds are threatened, the level of violence spikes. The overall violence is down significantly since the surge began.

Having said that, the military commanders have recently revealed that we have stopped gaining ground for the moment, which is problematic. Petraeus is rightfully afraid that if he gives up the security gains in Baghdad to go after more insurgents, that he'll lose those gains and end up back in the "whack a mole" defense. Not good.

We need the Iraqi military to become competant.­..quickly. Or we need an additional surge, which we probably can't support. Or we need help from the UN. We'll see what happens when General Petraeus reports to Congress later this month.

Stagnation is not good for a long period of time, I think.

[GarsLuber]

ALL of the surges failed.

[MIKEBC]

TO NEO CONS THIS IS "JUST A NUMBER"

[CintiBlue]

Don't forget, "a comma".

[MikeMidCity]

None of our kids, we do the thinking around here. See the nice office building and our suites of blue and grey? So quit your clamoring about a few, two or four thousand, dead. We are your betters and we will tell your kids when and how to die.

"Now if we could only get some help from the Democrats in the Senate when we run this smelly turd of a war up the flag pole and see who bites.", From the minuets of the last meeting of the last neo-cons meeting before the vote to authorize the use of force in Iraq.

Rich people are putting their money from the war into Euros and poor people are getting their kids home in a box. This war sure was a good call for someone.

[richw23]

Looks like '1984' is starting to come together at last. Never thought the media would be so helpful at keeping the never-ending war so vague.

[falgiano]

i feel sad about this, but i (and tons of other people) spent the last 4+ years screaming my head off about the injustice that this war is for the soldiers, the Iraqis and the american public getting bilked by contractors.

you shout and shout and if no one cares and they just want to walk goosestep with Bush then you get to the point where you just say to yourself: 'well good luck with your war - it's all yours.' and you leave the rest to fate. and hope that we are not destroyed by it.

i'm done with it. as sad as that sounds.

[white mende man]

The Few The Proud The Dead, America does not care so long as there are pressing issues such as American Idol, the latest electronic gadget and yes Oprah... so sad to fight and die for big business and oil.
And remember the eaves dropping of US citizens is put in place to see what kinds of deals the public is making so that the big boys can jump on them... trust me that is all they care about not about spying on our totally petty lives

[JoJoKewl]

MORE DEAD FOR O.I.L.
(Ohio)

See the boys and girls a'marchin
Down the Highway straight to Hell
Sacrificed for Halliburton
More dead for O.I.L.

Tin soldiers that MacBomb drafted
Little Dubyas you'll have to fight
Lemme know how much you like it
Hope you all don't die from fright.

What're you gonna do
When the Draft Board calls on you
Wont be no place you can hide
You're a pawn in their game
Just a number not a name
Another Unknown who has died

Go to war or go to prison
You're never too young to die
Put your head between your legs and
Kiss your sweet young ass goodbye

See the prisoners forced to slaughter
Hurried on their way to Hell
Sacrificed for Dreams of Empire
More dead for O.I.L..

WAR IS GOOD BUSINESS! INVEST YOUR CHILDREN!

[brooklyncitizen]

This does not reflect the percentage of dead private contractors...and they are not all Blackwater militia. These are truly "not counted". Most likely it doesn't reflect the ones that die later from their injuries or from suicide .


The tone of this piece is that Americans are not interested yet we turned out in droves to vote out Republicans from Congress precisely becasue of our fed-uppedness with Iraq. Undoubtedly the commercial media is the culprit if there is to be one. THey have complied with the Administration's secretive policy when it comes to the vets, whether it is dead or wounded or even the level or lack of treatment they have received.

We are not immersed in this conflict even though we are in our fifth year. my guess is that the numbers are much higher and the number of Iraqui deaths is unfathomable. The damage the US govt has wrought is the equivalent of a long-term famine or massive natural disaster ...and there is no end in sight...at least another 100 years right?

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

A few months ago, we were on pace to surpass 4,000 by March 15, the fifth anniversary of the Iraqubacle.

At the time, I was looking forward to going back to DC with my kids for a mass rally to protest the war and demand the impeachment of the Chimp-In-Chief. And I say "looking forward" not in happiness, but out of love of country, respect for the Constitution, and life lessons for my kids (who I dare say are more patriotic than Romney's welps any day).

Sadly, not only does Iraq Nam drag on, and not only is impeachment not even "off the table" -- it's not even actively in the House -- but what with primary mania, this year's protest seems to have tanked.

And still, soldiers continue to die for naught.

If there's a silver lining, it's only a partial one -- the death count will not top 4,000 before the 5th anniversay, though merely by days.

And still, the Chimp smirks on.

As of 03/13/08... 3,987 reasons to impeach.
http://icasualties.org/oif/

[MissingAmerica]

That should be 3,987 counts of first degree murder against Bush, Cheney and all those in their little war tribunal. After all, we all know that this was to serve the interests of George Bush; not America or Iraq.

[antworks]

This is exactly my thoughts, also MissingAmerica! These proud, young soldiers are dying in a war that never should have been started. Most Americans don't know the death toll because we live in a culture that litterly "hides its head in the sand" when there is something happening we want to go away because we feel powerless to change it. The news media has a huge part in this travesty, also. They have coddled this administration from day one of this ill advised war. Why won't the media hammer this President and his war mongers over this death toll? It just keeps going up and there is no end in sight.

[GarsLuber]

Cheney should be getting his pardon soon.

[sammy333]

What about the number of dead Iraqis?

What about the number of American soldiers without limbs?

What about the number of children killed or maimed since 2003?

What about the number of their mothers who became insane?

No? The Panda sex in the San Diego Zoo makes better news?

[Donnat]

I've read polls that the 'economy' has replaced Iraq as the issue most Americans are concerned about. It figures that the average overweight, underinformed American voter would put their own comfort ahead of ending what is without a doubt the U.S.' most disgraceful action in its entire history, the needless suffering and waste of American lives it has cost and the loss of America's stature in the world for generations to come.

If they think the economy is bad now, wait until we bankrupt ourselves in Iraq, which is where we're headed unless someone can leap onto the runaway train that is the Iraq occupation and put on the brakes before it goes over the cliff. I'm betting that someone is Obama.

[JerryTheAngel]

Our country is in deep deep trouble. When you have so few Americans even knowing how many Americans have died it is the beginning of the end. What percentage know that over 500,000 Iraqi's have died since we invaded and occupied their country? 10 percent? 15 percent?

Hillary Clinton supporters don't care about our troops. They support a woman who supported this war. How dare this country not even care about what our brave troops are going through in this immoral war. For those of you who believe in God, you should pray there is not a God because there is no way He is going to forgive any American who so callously ignores or excuses mass murder on the scale it has taken place in Iraq for Americans and Iraqi's.

The same Pew survery finds that 53 percent of Americans think we will achieve our goals in Iraq. I doubt if any of those 53 percent could even know what specifically those goals are because Cheney/Bush have never made it clear what goals we want to accomplish there. They have moved the goal posts on goals for 5 years now. It's sickening to me.