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US troop deaths during Iran war exceed Pentagon count by at least four

200 points · 139 comments · wslh

  1. bitcurious · · focus · HN ↗
    > The newspaper also reported, citing another unidentified official, that not all of the undisclosed deaths were directly tied to the months-long conflict but involved US personnel who were in the Middle East amid ongoing hostilities.

    If someone dies near a war, but not due to the war, is it really fair to count them as a war fatality?

    1. lukan · · focus · HN ↗
      If they are killed by houthi drones and not iranian drones, I would think so.

      If someone on a military base with no attacks going on, got a heart attack by watching the news, probably not a war fatality.

      But we don't know, so any concrete speculation is probably not very helpful.

      1. AnotherGoodName · · focus · HN ↗
        To get more specific this often means 'suicide' which absolutely is a casualty of war given the strain of war conditions, especially given the logistics concerns and duration of tours that they are forcing right now.
        1. Freedom2 · · focus · HN ↗
          What logistics concerns are there? Isn't the US supposed to be one of the best at managing wartime logistics, which is why they have bases all around the world?
          1. MiroslavPokorny · · focus · HN ↗
            The US has bases around the world because its auxiliary fleet is rather limited. Its always an advantage to have supplies nearby because shipping or flying anything thousands or half way around the world is just too hard.

            Lose those advantages and even the US military is troubled and the results are what we see today. It cant invade Iran and it cant even bomb or launch an invasion of Houthi territory.

            Did i mention the Ospreys which were built because of the Tehran Embassy hostages from the 1980s are grounded today or limited to very short trips because of constant mechanical failures ?

            Smokes and mirrors, its not a smart thing to show your enemy your weaknesses.

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