The Language of War and Casualty Reporting

In both Iraq and Afghanistan, civilian deaths were systematically minimized in official

military reporting. Airstrike casualties were reclassified. Deaths caused by raids disappeared

into vague categories. Entire incidents were marked enemy killed when civilians were known to be

present. Internal documents later revealed the truth: commanders and analysts knew

the numbers were far higher than what the public was told. Field reports contradicted

press briefings. Damage assessments quietly acknowledged women and children — then buried the

data. “Collateral damage” became the language of distance. It transformed human

lives into accounting errors, making tragedy easier to manage and easier to forget.