There is more evidence that the US Military has been lying about body counts. Afghan commanders have reported that as many as 1000 rebels escaped through US perimeters. This would directly contradict the US Military which asserts that that Operation Anaconda was an “unqualified and absolute success” and the suggestion that they completely annihilated the rebel forces due to the overwhelming power and ability of the American forces. However, the evidence supports the claim that the US has been less than honest about the number of enemy dead for public relations purposes. Even our Afghan allies contradict the brilliant victory reported by the US. “Only 50 to 60 were killed. Most of them escaped,” said Gulbuddin, a top aide to Afghan Defense Minister Mohammad Fahim. When asked about the US figures of 800-1000 dead Gulbuddin told Reuters: “No, no. It is not so. Most scattered across the mountains and fled.”
The US stands by their claim. Their explanation for a lack of bodies or real evidence to support their estimates? U.S. Major-General Frank Hagenbeck, commander of ground forces in Afghanistan, says that the Al Quaeda bodies were disintegrated by powerful American bombs. “When the troops went in on the ground afterwards they found 40 pairs of shoes,” Hagenbeck said. “All we saw were a couple of body parts sticking out of a 15-foot high mud heap.” This begs the question, why would 40 pairs of shoes not be similarly shredded and why is a pile of shoes considered strong evidence?
There is little reason to take the Military at its word. It has a long history of manipulating body counts and controlling media access to independent information. The Freedom of Press guaranteed by the Constitution has not kept the government from controlling the access of the press and censoring information they feel harms their public image. We may never know how many people have really died. This includes Americans, ‘terrorists’, and innocent civilians. These are troubling times when you cannot tell the good guys from the bad guys.