DOD Changes Number of Iran War Casualties to Make Trump Look Better

The Department of Defense has changed the official number of U.S. military servicemembers killed in the war with Iran from 18 to 14—and couldn’t explain why. 

Three military officials told The New York Times Thursday that one reason that the death toll had been altered was because four of the deaths occurred last week, after President Donald Trump’s ceasefire fell apart. The Trump administration has previously tried to insist that there are two separate phases in the war effort.

Meanwhile, Joel Valdez, the acting press secretary for the Pentagon, told the outlet that the change resulted from “temporary data disruptions” and would soon be fixed.

The DOD has argued that it is bound by law to report on deaths, but not injuries. But here, the Pentagon’s shady actions highlight the startling lack of transparency as Trump continues to prosecute his widely unpopular war with Iran. 

The Pentagon has been slow to release information about U.S. servicemembers’ conditions, and has downplayed the extent of their injuries.

The DOD also withheld information about three Iranian strikes last week that injured dozens of U.S. servicemembers and damaged several helicopters, several U.S. officials told the Times. 

Earlier this year, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth referred to an Iranian drone strike on a makeshift tactical operations center in Kuwait as a “squirter.” But dozens of U.S. servicemembers suffered from injuries including burns, shrapnel wounds, and brain trauma. The  Pentagon, however, did not release information about how many were hurt in the strike, and U.S. Central Command initially claimed that just five were seriously wounded. ...