Last June NEWSWEEK reported as many as 60 percent of U.S. injuries and nine of the 23 deaths may have been due to friendly fire. The Pentagon denied the story. But the report reveals that the Pentagon failed to disclose that 72 of 312 servicemen it counts among the wounded were actually injured in parachute jumps, not by enemy fire. The report also shows the U.S. military death toll was 26 not 23, and at least six may have been the result of friendly fire.
All told, the report concludes that 114 of the 338 U.S. casualties–34 percent–were caused by friendly fire or accidents. Highly placed sources told NEWSWEEK that even this percentage was low. And, the report reveals, the staff of Joint Chiefs Chairman Colin Powell tried to paint a rosier picture for Cheney. An April 4 memo to Cheney’s top aides claimed no U.S. soldiers were killed and only five were wounded by friendly fire. The Pentagon’s only comment was to confirm the revised figures.
