# The Pentagon injury figures

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "The Pentagon injury figures," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-pentagon-injury-figures/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's explanation of why the Pentagon was able to withhold news of dozens of American casualties in the Iran war: not secrecy law, but the absence of any statute requiring disclosure. In his framing Congress is asleep at the switch, having never passed such a law, so the department reports nothing it is not obliged to report.*

- **Reported by:** The New York Times
- **Withheld:** Three earlier strikes on US forces in Jordan, dozens of injuries, damage to several helicopters
- **Legal position:** No law compels the Pentagon to report the figures
- **Kiriakou's diagnosis:** "Congress is asleep at the switch"

**The Pentagon injury figures** is [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)'s explanation of a July 2026 *New York Times* report that the United States had withheld information on dozens of military injuries sustained in the war with Iran.

## What was withheld

In the week before the strike that killed two American soldiers and left a third missing in Jordan, Iran had carried out three other attacks on American forces in the country. Those attacks injured dozens of service members and damaged several helicopters. The Pentagon disclosed neither the earlier strikes nor the casualties and damage they caused.[1][2]

## Why they could

Kiriakou's answer, offered with an apology for sounding like a broken record, is that no rule was broken. *"They are not compelled. The Pentagon is not compelled to report these figures. There's no law that says they have to report these figures."*[2]

His explanation for the absence is institutional rather than conspiratorial. There is no such law because *"Congress is asleep at the switch,"* and never passed one.[3]

The rest follows on its own. The Pentagon's reasoning, as he renders it, is simply: why would we inform Capitol Hill, why would we inform the media that our helicopters are being destroyed or that dozens of people are injured, when we do not have to?[3]

## See also

- [The Pentagon Press Contract](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-pentagon-press-contract)
- [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)
- [Congressional intelligence oversight](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/congressional-intelligence-oversight)

## Sources

1. This is Why Iran's Missiles Will Keep Coming | Ep. 3 (2026-07-21), at 05:11. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkRAo0eDnK0&t=311s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-21-john-kiriakou-this-is-why-iran-s-missiles-will/
2. This is Why Iran's Missiles Will Keep Coming | Ep. 3 (2026-07-21), at 05:43. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkRAo0eDnK0&t=343s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-21-john-kiriakou-this-is-why-iran-s-missiles-will/
3. This is Why Iran's Missiles Will Keep Coming | Ep. 3 (2026-07-21), at 06:13. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkRAo0eDnK0&t=373s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-21-john-kiriakou-this-is-why-iran-s-missiles-will/

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