Tricky, Don't Use That Number

Days have passed,  and we still have no idea where Secretary of State John Kerry got that amazingly precise number of 1429 killed in the alleged Syria chemical attack in August.  Hasn't cited or explained or taken questions on that.  Merely says can't say because it would "compromise" intel, which sounds like utter bull.  And other sources put the number a lot lower.  Obviously the higher number, along with also unproven claim of more than 400 kids, is meant to sell it to the American people--and that's why it's key.  But most in U.S. media still cited the number with little qualifying or probing.

That's starting to change, finally, although few in media charging Kerry with a lie.   In the midst of a major AP story tonight  (on the U.S. missing signs of the chemical attack) the reporter notes:  "The administration says 1,429 died in the attack. Casualty estimates by other groups are far lower."

Mark Seibel, a top McClatchy editor, was on Democracy Now! today taking up that issue, among others, and full transcript is here.  An L.A. Times piece today took a very tough look at it, citing the lower figures from the Brits and French.  And this:

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, generally regarded as one of the most reliable sources of information on casualty figures in Syria, says it has confirmed 502 deaths, including 80 children and 137 women. Rami Abdul-Rahman, a Syrian expatriate who runs the organization from his home in Britain, said he was shocked by the White House's count.

"I don't know where this number came from," Abdul-Rahman said in a phone interview.
He said some Syrian opposition groups disseminate propaganda and exaggerated death tolls in an attempt to sway American politicians.  "The U.S. took this high number from one part of the Syrian opposition that is supported by the U.S. government," Abdul-Rahman said. "We don't trust them."

A former CIA official tells the Times:  "I would suspect most of that information would be on the high side initially.  You'll have sources who want to influence you, so they'll give higher figures." Also see in-depth Marcy Wheeler post here.  (My book on how the media helped give us Iraq war, and keep us there.)