“Numbers became so important that if the SecDef went to a briefing and we had reported that we had captured 14 Al Qaeda and it really turned out to be 12 or 16, then it would be easier to let two go or go back and capture two more rather than to try to change the OSD [Office of the Secretary of Defense] number.”
A deputy commanding general in Afghanistan quoted in Sean Naylor’s Not A Good Day to Die via INTEL DUMP