[Constantine XI Palaeologus]

What do you mean “For public consumption?”

And I’m not so sure about knowing how many you kill, a lot of the jihadis in Iraq are killed with personal and direct fire weapons compared to previous wars, but I’ll bet plenty have been killed indirectly in airstrikes and with artillery/mortar fire (like that AQ guy recently). Also, if keeping count of rounds expended is anything like counting kills, I think any accurate count can be ruled out.

I doubt the jihadis police their dead and wounded, but even so, I can’t imagine squad leaders asking their squad members how many jihadis they think they’ve killed, and I certainly can’t imagine going around and counting ala Vietnam.

[endthematrix]

I meant the Pentagon isn't going to release official counts. Already media gets sporadic statements from boots on the ground.

"I can’t imagine squad leaders asking their squad members how many jihadis they think they’ve killed"

I would love to get an answer from a FReeper in the military. Why not? If intel bothers to know HOW MANY why not HOW MANY are there after an encounter?

[endthematrix]

My point was that body counts are not used to sway public opinion but to assess the battlefield.