【Pentagon's self-deception: tampering with casualty statistics】Trump secretly altered the U.S.-Iran war casualty figures, reclassifying deaths and injuries occurring after July 7 as part of a new "overseas operations" category, separate from the original "Operation Epic Fury" initiated since February 28.
The Pentagon updated its casualty analysis system on the 26th, reinstating the four soldiers killed in the attack on the Jordan base previously excluded.
However, these four personnel were not reintegrated into Operation Epic Fury; instead, they were placed under a newly created, vague category called "Overseas Operations," with casualties counted starting from July 7.
In effect, the same Iran conflict has now been split into two parts, each tracked under a different operational designation.
If one only reviews a single page of data, it becomes impossible to grasp the total number of fatalities—and could even mislead viewers into believing that this war resulted in only four U.S. military casualties!
The death toll was revised from 18 to 14+4—pure deception!
The military justified this change by stating that these four soldiers died after the April ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, thus no longer qualifying for inclusion in the original war statistics—prompting strong backlash from veterans, military families, and members of Congress.
Trump maintains that the first half ended with the April ceasefire, while the July fighting constitutes an entirely new conflict. He formally notified Congress on July 10 that hostilities against Iran had resumed.
The dividing line is clearly July.
The key point is this: if the conflict is redefined as a new war, the 60-day period under the War Powers Act can be reset.
Following this logic, the casualty count can also be reset on the same date.
After another 60 days, the same conflict enters a “third quarter”—and if needed, a “fourth quarter” could follow, just like in NBA basketball, at will.
The congressional authorization to declare war effectively collapses—the so-called authorization becomes meaningless.
If casualty numbers keep rising, they grow larger over time, which looks bad publicly, undermines foreign image-building, and gives opponents ammunition.
But after segmenting the statistics, the reported numbers should never exceed those of the first phase, appearing instead to decrease—a sign, according to Trump, of his wise leadership and deep care for troops.
No one values soldiers' lives more than he does!
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1871851677476876/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.