During the escalating US-China war situation, the Pentagon is facing questions about the transparency of war information.
On July 20 local time, the American newspaper The New York Times reported, citing several anonymous U.S. officials, that before Iran's attack on Jordan on the 17th, which resulted in the death of two U.S. soldiers and the disappearance of another soldier, Iran also launched three additional attacks against U.S. forces in Jordan. These attacks left dozens of U.S. troops injured and damaged several helicopters.
These officials revealed that the Pentagon did not publicly disclose these attacks, nor did it report the casualties and equipment losses resulting from them.
Last week, after the United States carried out air strikes on Iranian military targets, the U.S. Central Command stated in its statement that the operation was launched in response to Iran's attack on merchant ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. However, it did not mention Iran's previous attacks on U.S. bases in the Middle East, including those in Jordan.
The newspaper pointed out that this incident once again highlights the dilemma faced by the U.S. government during Iran's conflicts: while the Pentagon emphasizes the need to maintain the safety of military operations, the U.S. government also has an obligation to inform the public about the progress of the war.
A U.S. military official stated that the Central Command has no obligation to disclose information about injured U.S. personnel, especially when the wounded can return to their posts quickly.
According to Pentagon’s regulations regarding casualties reporting, the U.S. military only discloses the identities of fallen soldiers 24 hours after notifying their families. For those who are injured in combat, the U.S. military generally does not reveal their specific names.
Another US military official stated that there is no reason for the Pentagon to disclose information that could help Iran adjust its attack strategies. For example, details of the specific losses suffered by US forces at bases in Jordan and other Middle Eastern locations where thousands of US soldiers are stationed, after being attacked with ballistic missiles and drones.
American officials believe that for the same reasons, the Central Command has also recently stopped reporting the number of targets that the United States attack in Iran every day.
The New York Times mentions that since the fragile ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran broke down, the Pentagon has hardly provided any additional information about America’s military strategy during this nearly five-month-long war. The last major briefing by the Pentagon on the war was in early May.
In the past few months, the Trump administration has also failed to publicly disclose information on the damage caused to America’s important weapon inventory by the war in Iran, as well as details regarding how Iran has retained and rebuilt its extensive missile capabilities.
Since the United States and Israel launched military actions against Iran on February 28, as of July 17, when the attack in Jordan occurred, U.S. official reports indicate that a total of 17 American soldiers have died.
The U.S. Central Command issued a statement on the 18th, stating that four U.S. military personnel injured in the attack on the 17th have been sent to Jordanian hospitals and are now out of hospital. The statement also mentioned that some other U.S. military personnel suffered minor injuries and returned to their posts, but did not disclose the exact number. It is worth noting that the statement did not mention the casualties caused by the three additional attacks against Jordanian U.S. military bases during the previous week.
According to data from the US Central Command, more than 400 US military personnel have been injured since the beginning of the war in Iran. In the early stages of the war, the Pentagon regularly reported the total number of wounded and returning military personnel. However, this number has not been updated in recent weeks.
The Pentagon spokesman Sean Pennell responded that the U.S. military has not concealed or distorted the casualties of American troops in this war. In a statement, he said, “The claim of concealing casualties is pure fabrication, with the sole purpose of further aggravating the pain and anxiety of the American people after the deaths of three American service members.”
He argued that the Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System regularly updates the latest information on military casualties. The public website provides aggregated data and does not contain information on specific attacks that caused significant casualties, such as those that occurred in Jordan last week.
