Disappearing the Dead: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Idea of a "New Warfare"-- Executive Summary. PDA Research Monograph 9, 18 February 2004. Carl Conetta

Disappearing the Dead: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Idea of a "New Warfare" -- Executive Summary. PDA Research Monograph 9, 18 February 2004. Carl Conetta:

"US-led operations went far beyond the hunt for Al Qaeda to include two conventional wars whose objectives were regime change. By February 2004, neither war had yet produced a stable peace in the subject countries, but they had imposed more than 18,000 fatalities including perhaps 6,000 non-combatant deaths.(3) Based on historical experience, it is reasonable to assume that they additionally involved as many as 50,000 non-fatal casualties, both military and non-military. "

The point made in the article is that the U.S. government has chosen not to provide figures on casualties in countries it has attacked, feeling apparently that knowledge is not good for its democratic decision making.