Estimated Enemy Casualties
During the Vietnam War
This example was recommended by Clark Iverson.
In January 1991, General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, the U.S. commander in the Persian Gulf, explained that "Body count means nothing, absolutely nothing...all it is is a wild guess that tends to mislead people as to what's going on. . . . It puts undue pressure on commanders to come up with numbers that are unreal."
Schwarzkopf was an infantry office in Vietnam during the time when American Defense Secretary Robert McNamara made body count the key to determining American military success during the Vietnam War. Because of the importance of body counts, troops would often overestimate the number of enemy soldiers killed as well as the killing of civilians. This lead to massive fraud in the statistics that were reported to the American public.
Especially after the release of the Pentagon Papers by Daniel Ellsberg, American confidence in what their government told them deteriorated. The cover-up of the Mỹ Lai Massacre and other atrocities also contributed to the lack of confidence that is still being experienced in the American political system.
Suggestions for Further Reading
Cukier, Kenneth and Viktor Mayer-Schönberger. "The Dictatorship of Data: Robert McNamara Epitomizes the Hyper-Rational Executive Led Astray by Numbers.." MIT Technology Review. 31 May 2013.
Ellsberg, Daniel. "Lying About Vietnam." New York Times. 29 June 2001.
Kempster, Norman. "In This War, Body Count Is Ruled Out : Casualties: Gen. Schwarzkopf Makes It Clear He's Not Repeating a Blunder Made in Vietnam." Los Angeles Times. 31 Jan. 1991.
Lippman, Thomas W. "Defense Secretary, Architect of U.S. Involvement in Vietnam Robert McNamara Dies." Washington Post. 7 July 2009.
Pierce, Todd E. "The Long Reach of Vietnam War Deceptions." Consortiumnews. 6 Aug. 2014.
