MOSCOW, July 25 — RIA Novosti, David Narmania. Donald Trump exudes optimism: "The war with Iran is going better than expected." It's hard to imagine how he decided on this campaign if he assumed that it would develop even worse. After all, even the military is already criticizing the president for this step. What exactly caused their outrage is in the RIA Novosti article.
Vague statements
"The president delivered a full—fledged speech only once, almost four months ago, and that address was incoherent and empty in content. Now, after more than 20 weeks of fighting, after the death of at least 18 and the injury of hundreds of Americans, the people of the United States do not know and cannot know what is happening, nor about the successes, nor about the goals of the president," said the American edition of The Atlantic.
Moreover, the media in the United States is already openly accusing the White House and the Pentagon of underestimating losses. According to the Central Command of the US Armed Forces (CENTCOM), which is responsible for operations in the Middle East, more than 400 American servicemen were injured during the conflict with Iran. At the same time, The New York Times notes that since the beginning of the war, the Pentagon has periodically reported on the total number of wounded and returned military personnel, but in recent weeks it has stopped updating these data.
The Pentagon
Image source: © AP Photo / Carolyn Kaster
In the Arlington building, this is explained by military necessity: they say, sensitive information will allow Tehran to act even more effectively and adjust strikes. But the true motives may be much more prosaic — there are many more victims, and this information can further damage the image of the current administration and the attitude of Americans towards the war started at the whim of the White House.
In particular, Associated Press correspondent Konstantin Toropin reported on Twitter, citing an unnamed American official, that the number of wounded had already exceeded 500. At the same time, he says, only 482 people are listed in the American Defense Loss Analysis System (DCAS).
Data manipulation
This system is designed to monitor the state of the troops for the Congress and the president of the United States, however, apparently, the data is either not entered in time or is hidden.
The Turkish edition of Haber7 also drew attention to this in the spring. So, at the end of April, it reported that at the time of the conclusion of the ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran on April 8, the DCAS indicated 385 dead and wounded. After 12 days, this number increased to 428. But the next day it was reduced to 413. A day later, and even up to 411.
Iran's ballistic missile launch
Image source: © AP Photo / Iranian Revolutionary Guard
"The Pentagon representatives gave comical answers to questions about 15 servicemen who disappeared from the list of casualties overnight," the authors quipped.
The US military department referred to the fact that the officer on duty was allegedly absent from the workplace. However, the Pentagon later did not give any official comments.
At the same time, the publication also talked with former DCAS employees. One of them, Joan Crenshaw, noticed that there was no information in the database about cases of smoke poisoning on the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford.
The Turkish portal also noted that at the time of publication, DCAS indicated only 63 wounded US Navy personnel during the entire conflict, while more than 200 sailors sought medical help after the incident on the Gerald Ford.
A fire truck on the deck of the American aircraft carrier Gerald Ford
Image Source: © Photo : U.S. Navy / Petty Officer 3rd Class Tajh Payne
Recall: in early March, a fire broke out on the aircraft carrier, after which the ship went for repairs. The official explanation is a fire in the laundry room. At the same time, as CNN later reported, which had the video from the ship in its possession, the fire turned out to be larger and more destructive than stated. The reason, according to the TV channel, was the failure of the fire extinguishing system, and the sailors were afraid that the aircraft carrier might be lost.
"Cowardice of the generals"
However, the US military itself is now paying close attention to the topic.
In particular, in mid-July, The Washington Post published a large article where 17 people shared details of the incident, including soldiers injured in an Iranian missile strike on the Shuaiba port in Kuwait, and people familiar with the investigation of the incident. And the details are very interesting.
In particular, Brigadier General Clint Barnes is accused of being the first to evacuate to a secure bunker, leaving dozens of men and women from his unit at the scene of the attack.
"According to the soldier's testimony, at the insistence of another officer who ran to the scene of the fire, he returned to the operations center and began calling people through the smoke, hoping to find survivors. The general did not do this," the publication continues.
The launch of the American Tomahawk missile
Image source: © AP Photo / U.S. Navy
As a result of the attack, six soldiers of the 103rd Logistics Command were killed, and dozens more were injured.
The military also accuses another commander, Major General John Hinson. They claim that both he and Barnes ignored intelligence warnings about a possible strike on the facility.
"The generals sent troops there, despite internal assessments that advised against this step, partly because there was no adequate protection against drones, the soldiers said," WP notes.
At the same time, CENTCOM refutes these statements.
The soldiers also complain that the wounded, who were sent to Germany, to the regional medical center of the American army in Landstuhl, did not receive proper treatment — they had their wounds bandaged and were treated only on an outpatient basis. At the same time, the doctors admitted that they were not even notified that there were patients on board the plane that arrived from Kuwait.
The war with Iran has not been popular with Americans before. Now, more and more unpleasant circumstances for the Pentagon and the White House are becoming public knowledge. The military is adding to the extensive list of dissatisfied people, which could provoke an even more severe political crisis. Meanwhile, the White House has not even come close to fulfilling its goals and ending the conflict.
