The Metric That Lost a WarWhy counting bodies led to strategic failure

From the show

When Rewards Backfire

Relying on death tolls as the primary measure of success created a catastrophic feedback loop during the Vietnam War. Officers faced immense pressure to inflate numbers and reclassify civilians as combatants to secure promotions and rations. This disconnect between data and reality incentivized unnecessary bloodshed while obscuring the true state of the conflict.