Comments on: 50,000 Iraqi Insurgents Killed or Captured

By: blixa

blixa — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 00:54:46 +0000

Even if the 50k number were true, there is a logical error in concluding from a stated 50k/7month casualty rate that "The Insurgency" must therefore have consisted of at least 50k people at some point during that time. "The Insurgency" is not a fixed group of people.

By: The Politburo Diktat

The Politburo Diktat — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 21:04:07 +0000

50,000 Terrorist Casualties in Iraq

This is the most unsettling report yet to come out of Iraq. The Washington Times reports that we have killed or captured 50,000 terrorists in Iraq. If you think that’s good news, you need to do some arithmetic.
U.S. and Iraqi forces have killed...

By: DC Loser

DC Loser — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 19:03:05 +0000

I admire Keane as he's a soldier's soldier and a straight shooter, but I have to wonder about these numbers. He must have pulled out the body count manual from the Vietnam days.

By: Jim Henley

Jim Henley — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 18:30:55 +0000

That would really suck if these numbers weren't pulled out of DOD's @ss. It would mean the insurgents could suffer hors de combat losses of 50G effectives and INCREASE the tempo of their operations throughout the year.

It must be an anxious life for people who take Pentagon PR at face value.

By: killBil

killBil — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 13:47:47 +0000

Presuming the 50,000 figure is somewhere close to accurate, one wonders about the internals. How many of the 50,000 have been killed vice captured?

This is clearly a PsyOp. With regard to civilian casualties, the Pentagon said a few months ago that they "have no reliable means of gathering that information."

The fact that the insurgency is an irregular military force makes distinguishing between civilians and fighters difficult.

The Pentagon is basically just thowing numbers out there hoping to discourage an expansion of the insurgency and to make a case for their military effectiveness. Significantly, Keane didn't explain how the numbers were computed.

This is a non-story.