The total includes 79,575 casualties since the US invaded Iraq in March, 2003 (Operations “Iraqi Freedom” and “New Dawn”), and 32,964 since the US invaded Afganistan in November, 2001 (Operation “Eduring Freedom”)

AFGANISTAN THEATER: US forces suffered 59 combat casualties in the period ending Feb 21 as the total rose to 32,964. The total includes 16,872 dead and wounded from “hostile” causes and 16,092 dead or medically evacuated (as of Feb 6) from “non-hostile” causes.

IRAQ THEATER: The Pentagon is still making adjustments to casualty numbers in “Operation New Dawn” but remaining US forces suffered no combat casualties in the period ending Feb. 22 as the total remained at 79,575. That includes 35,749 dead and wounded from what the Pentagon classifies as “hostile” causes and 43,826 dead or medically evacuated (as of Feb 6) from “non-hostile” causes.

US media divert attention from the actual cost in American life and limb by reporting regularily only the total killed (6,378 – 4,487 in Iraq,1,891 in Afghanistan) but rarely mentioning those wounded in action (47,603–32,223 in Iraq, 15,380 in Afghanistan). They ignore the 58,558 (42,865 in Iraq,15,693 in AfPak (as of Feb. 6) military casualties injured and ill seriously enough to be medivaced out of theater, even though the 6,362 total dead include 1,360 (961 in Iraq, 399 in Afghanistan) who died from those same “non hostile” causes, including 309 suicides (as of Feb 6) and at least 18 in Iraq from faulty KBR electrical work.

*LIBYA :Operation “Odessy Dawn” launched in March, officially ended Oct 31, 2011 with no reported US casualties.

WIA are usually updated on Tuesday at www.defenselink.mil/news/casualty.pdf

Non combat casualties are usually reported monthly at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/castop.htm

The above report is published by Michael Munk via his email list.

“Pay attention: Occupy was so powerful a force for nonviolence that it was already solving Oakland’s chronic crime and violence problems just by giving people hope and meals and solidarity and conversation.”

–Rebecca Solnit clarifies – violent crime in Oakland was down 19% while the encampment existed.

“In any case, the situation demonstrates a growing and expanding willingness on the part of our country’s senior military leaders to use “Information Operations” even on domestic audiences to manipulate the system in order to get what they want.”

–From Lt. Col. Davis’s damning report on our failures in Afghanistan

The neoconservative senator from Connecticut has introduced a “Sense of the Senate” resolution that would put the body on record as rejecting a situation that arguably already exists, in which Iran has the know-how to build a bomb even if it has no intention to do so.

–Sen. Lieberman is not satisfied with bombing Iran if they build a nuke. He wants us to bomb them just for knowing how it’s done.

The total includes 79,575 casualties since the US invaded Iraq in March, 2003 (Operations “Iraqi Freedom” and “New Dawn”), and 32,897 since the US invaded Afganistan in November, 2001 (Operation “Eduring Freedom”)

AFGANISTAN THEATER: US forces suffered 22 combat casualties in the period ending Feb 15 as the total rose to 32,897. The total includes 16,813 dead and wounded from “hostile” causes and 16,084 dead or medically evacuated (as of Feb 6) from “non-hostile” causes.

IRAQ THEATER: The Pentagon is still making adjustments to casualty numbers in “Operation New Dawn” but remaining US forces suffered no combat casualties in the period ending Feb. 15 as the total rose to 79,575 (monthy “non combat” injuries reported). That includes 35,749 dead and wounded from what the Pentagon classifies as “hostile” causes and 43,826 dead or medically evacuated (as of Feb 6) from “non-hostile” causes.

US media divert attention from the actual cost in American life and limb by reporting regularily only the total killed (6,370 – 4,487 in Iraq,1,883 in Afghanistan) but rarely mentioning those wounded in action (47,566–32,223 in Iraq, 15,343 in Afghanistan). They ignore the 58,558 (42,865 in Iraq,15,693 in AfPak (as of Feb. 6) military casualties injured and ill seriously enough to be medivaced out of theater, even though the 6,362 total dead include 1,352 (961 in Iraq, 391 in Afghanistan) who died from those same “non hostile” causes, including 309 suicides (as of Feb 6) and at least 18 in Iraq from faulty KBR electrical work.

*LIBYA :Operation “Odessy Dawn” launched in March, officially ended Oct 31, 2011 with no reported US casualties.

WIA are usually updated on Tuesday at www.defenselink.mil/news/casualty.pdf

Non combat casualties are usually reported monthly at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/castop.htm

The above report is published by Michael Munk via his email list.

“Senior ranking US military leaders have so distorted the truth when communicating with the US Congress and American people in regards to conditions on the ground in Afghanistan that the truth has become unrecognizable.”

–Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, U.S. Army, in a bombshell report subtitled “Senior Military Leaders’ Loss of Integrity Wounds Afghan War Effort”.

“Proprietary trading is not an essential commercial bank service that justifies taxpayer support.”

–Paul Volcker defends the rule that bears his name, which allows for government insurance on commercial bank deposits but leaves speculative traders to fend for themselves. Goldman, Sachs would prefer its prop desk was backed by Uncle Sam.

“… the United States will be in full blown debt ceiling hike chaos just as the final electoral debates take place.”

-Zero Hedge gives us something to look forward to.

“We needed a court order to eavesdrop on him, but we didn’t need a court order to kill him. Isn’t that something?”

–Michael Hayden, former Air Force general and CIA Director under Bush, on the assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki. Hayden added that “there isn’t a government on the planet that agrees with our legal rationale for [drone bombings], except for Afghanistan and maybe Israel.”

“We don’t need to ask who you’re talking to. We know.”

–Anonymous “national security representative“, to reporter Lucy Dalglish, on why she shouldn’t expect too many subpoenas of journalists for their sources, a la James Risen.