Posted on 04/03/2004 3:55:52 AM PST by angkor
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Citing a need to protect the troops, the Marine Corps operating in Fallujah and elsewhere in the volatile Sunni Triangle of central Iraq is restricting the information it releases about insurgent attacks that kill Marines.
On Friday, for example, a statement from the Marines? base camp outside Fallujah said a Marine had been killed the day before ?as a result of enemy action? in Anbar province. In a break from the practice of other U.S. forces in Iraq, the Marines gave no details.
The Army and the Pentagon, in their news releases announcing service members? deaths in Iraq, typically offer a brief characterization of the hostile action, such as mortar fire, roadside bomb or other type of attack. They usually cite the town where it happened; the Marines do not.
?Force protection measures preclude the release of any information that could aid enemy personnel in assessing the effectiveness or lack thereof with regard to their tactics, techniques and procedures,? the Marine statement from the Fallujah base camp said. ?The release of more details about the incident could place our Marines and sailors at greater risk.?
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Advertise Here | Advertising Directory The Marines are operating in some of the most dangerous parts of Iraq, and they have had at least 12 of their men killed since they arrived in March to replace the Army?s 82nd Airborne Division, including the death Thursday. In line with standard military practice, the Marines have not publicly released that name, pending notification of relatives.
At U.S. Central Command, which is running the war, a spokesman, Capt. Bruce Frame, said it was the Marine Corps? prerogative to determine how much information to release about casualties.
The Defense Department?s deputy assistant secretary for public affairs, Bryan Whitman, said the Pentagon was in discussion with the Marines about modifying their policy to provide more information.
In an announcement Thursday about the deaths of five troops in Anbar province, the Marines did not offer details about the incident and did not specify the troops? branch of service. It said they were ?serving with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force,? the main body of Marines in Iraq.
On Friday, in its own announcement about the same incident, the Pentagon said the five were from the 1st Brigade of the Army?s 1st Infantry Division and were killed when their armored personnel carrier was hit by a makeshift bomb in Habbaniyah, which is west of Fallujah. The 1st Brigade, based at Fort Riley, Kan., is operating under 1st Marine Expeditionary Force command.
About 25,000 Marines are in Iraq. They are responsible for Anbar province, which stretches west from Baghdad to the borders with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria. It includes the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah, where resistance to the U.S. occupation has been most fierce.
With 50 deaths, March was the second-deadliest month for U.S. troops in Iraq since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1. The deadliest was November, with 82 deaths.
Since the war began in March 2003, 601 U.S. troops have died there, according to the Pentagon?s count. That does not count American civilians, including two Department of the Army civilians killed March 9.
The average ago of those who died in March was 27; the youngest was 18 and the oldest was 52. Seven were in their 40s, and 10 were 20 years old. Eleven were Marines, one was Navy and 38 were Army. Six were members of the Army National Guard, and one was an Army Reserve member.
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