Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 27, 1990 TAG: 9003272327
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The U.S. Southern Command said it now believed the actual casualty figure for Panamanian forces was about 50, meaning the civilian toll exceeded it by a 4-to-1 margin.
The disclosure, prompted by a human rights group report that questioned U.S. estimates, provides a much different picture of the U.S. operation than the previous portrayal.
The U.S. estimate of 314 Panamanian enemy dead was widely reported at the time of the invasion and was cited by military officials. They noted in comparison that only 22 U.S. soldiers were killed in action. An additional 202 Panamanian civilians were killed during the operation, according to the Southern Command.
The Panama-based Southern Command said that it now believes that its earlier high estimates, based on battlefield reports by individual units, may have included "redundancies."
For example, a Southern Command spokesman said, several U.S. soldiers in "fast and furious" action apparently claimed kills for a fire fight in which only one Panamanian soldier died.
The revised casualty breakdown comes in the wake of disclosures that military authorities are investigating allegations of misconduct by 21 U.S. soldiers, including actions that caused the non-combat deaths of eight Panamanians.
U.S. officials in Panama have acknowledged privately for at least two months that the estimate of 314 enemy dead appeared to be too high. But until Monday, the Southern Command had stuck steadfastly to that official claim.
by CNB