Soldiers die in war. But ever since the death toll in Vietnam broke a generation’s appetite for war, the American public has been uniquely sensitive to casualty counts as a result of our military actions abroad.
We venerate fallen servicemembers as heroes, no matter how just the conflict they died in was. But now, Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly trying to say that some deaths don’t count.
On Thursday, the Pentagon’s official roll of servicemember deaths as a result of the Iran war suddenly changed, with four names dropping off the list, bringing the total number from 18 down to 14. The New York Times reported that the change came as a result of a direct action, with the Trump administration declaring that four servicemembers who were killed last weekend at bases in Jordan and Iraq don’t count toward the tally of deaths in the Iran conflict, as they occurred after he had declared the conflict to be at a ceasefire in late April.
This kind of paradoxical, absurdist logic is core to the administration’s messaging on the Iran war. We are at war, but not technically at war, because there is a cease fire. However, neither side has ceased firing; four American soldiers just died. However, because there was a cease fire, their deaths cannot be attributed to the Iran war, which is not technically an active conflict, despite the conflict being very active.
A military spokesperson told the Times that the site would soon be fixed to reflect the true casualty numbers, blaming “temporary data disruptions” for the change — despite multiple military officials claiming the change had been requested by the administration.
As of Friday afternoon, the website still listed only 14 deaths.
Trump has repeatedly compared his war in Iran to Vietnam and other past wars, in an effort to dismiss concerns about the death toll. The president has emphasized that his casualty numbers in a less than six-month-old war are lower than conflicts which dragged on for multiple years. The Pentagon has admitted that the U.S. has suffered over 100 casualties since July 7 of this year.
Changing the numbers on a Pentagon website does little to change the administration’s overall tenor on the war. Throughout the conflict, Trump has repeatedly asserted his right to pursue any and all military objectives with unilateral power. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said he should be praised for it, despite the fact that the war is now universally unpopular. The only concession Trump has offered to the public’s distaste for the war is to repeatedly say that it is almost over.
In reality, the war will continue for as long as Trump wants it to, an open wound on the global economy and the safety and security of the entire region. The Iranian people, of course, will bear the brunt of this violence. Trump has vowed to blow up civilian infrastructure like bridges and power plants if Iran continues striking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,” Trump posted this week on Truth Social. Intentionally targeting civilian infrastructure is a war crime.
It’s telling, too, what Trump’s red line is: shooting at the oil tankers that attempt to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The soldiers’ lives, well — those are expendable. And if the numbers get too high, he can just make some of them disappear.
