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Journal of Conflict Resolution
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Echoes of Vietnam?

Casualty Framing and Public Perceptions of Success and Failure in Iraq

William A. Boettcher, III

Department of Political Science, School of Public and International Affairs, North Carolina State University

Michael D. Cobb

Department of Political Science, School of Public and International Affairs, North Carolina State University

In the early stages of the counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq, military leaders resisted the release of body count and "casualty ratio" data. However, in the spring of 2004, the U.S. military (and American media) began to focus on the "limited" American casualties in specific operations versus the "significant" number of insurgents killed. This article examines the extent to which body count/casualty ratio "frames" and individual casualty tolerance influence public perceptions about the war and the success or failure of U.S. military operations. Two experiments were conducted pitting alternative casualty frames against one another to measure their relative impact. The results demonstrate the influence of framing effects on public perceptions and clarify understanding of the determinants and impact of casualty tolerance.

Key Words: casualties • framing • Iraq War • body counts • public opinion

Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 50, No. 6, 831-854 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0022002706293665
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This article has been cited by other articles:


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 Journal of Conflict ResolutionHome page
W. A. Boettcher III and M. D. Cobb
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 Journal of Conflict ResolutionHome page
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