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How many Americans have really been killed in Iraq? No one knows, because the Army won’t release information on private security contractors involved in shooting incidents. Yesterday a federal judge, ruling against a Los Angeles Times FOIA request, declared that policy was a legitimate means of keeping information from insurgents – even though the Army does release the names and locations of regular soldiers involved in shootings. This fits right into the Bush administration’s pattern of downplaying casualties, including tricky dodges like undercounting soldiers injured in battle who aren’t actually shot.
