Pentagon Hides Iran War Casualties as More U.S. Troops Are Killed

The Trump administration has been hiding military injuries from its reports on the Iran war.

Last week, Iran carried out three strikes against U.S. military personnel in Jordan, wounding dozens and damaging multiple helicopters, The New York Times reports. But the Department of Defense did not disclose those attacks to the public.

U.S. Central Command is not required to release information about injured soldiers, a U.S. military official told the Times, noting that releasing such information could help Iran refine its attacks. On Saturday, four injured soldiers were taken to hospitals in Jordan and then discharged, according to Central Command, but their statement did not mention any of the service members injured in the country last week.

Meanwhile, the American death toll in the war is rising. Two American service members were killed in an Iranian attack in Jordan on Friday, while a third was killed in an Iranian attack in northern Iraq the next day. Since the war began on February 28, 17 American soldiers have been killed, and over 400 have been wounded.

Operational security is a convenient excuse for setbacks in a war that has not gone as well as President Trump promised. Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz has hurt the U.S. and world economies and sent gas prices soaring. The civilian death toll in Iran continues to climb, with Trump refusing to take responsibility for egregious strikes, such as one that hit a school in Minab, Iran, on the first day of the war.

It isn’t surprising that this administration is trying to diminish and hide American casualties, but the real reason is that full transparency would make this already unpopular war even more politically toxic for Trump and his party. ...