- 10 Jan 2008 05:09
#1421939
Study: 151,000 Iraqis died in conflict’s violence
Surveyors face danger to count casualties from 2003 to 2006
Associated Press
updated 7:15 p.m. ET, Wed., Jan. 9, 2008
This really does underscore what a goatfuck the Iraq war is. Especially compared to Afghanistan. Not that everything's peachy keen in 'Stan. The warlords still hold more real power than Pres. Karzai does and last year we managed to kill more civilians than the Talibs did. But still Afghanistan (at least as of July of last year according to the CIA's Worldfact Book) has 4,390,285 more people than Iraq does but the average annual casualties there are in the hundreds whereas in Iraq they're in the tens of thousands.
Bush really shot himself (and America) in the foot by invading Iraq. He should've stuck with the war in Afghanistan. It was more popular, both at home and abroad, and it was taken much more seriously, due to 'Stan's reputation as being Vietnam's West Asian cousin. Whereas the preparation for the invasion of Iraq was a mixture of cockiness and self-delusion. If he had applied the same level of objectivity in analyzing the situation in Iraq, he would've known to have left Iraq alone. Some corporations profitted from this but for everyone else it's a complete FUBAR.
Surveyors face danger to count casualties from 2003 to 2006
Associated Press
updated 7:15 p.m. ET, Wed., Jan. 9, 2008
About 151,000 Iraqis died from violence in the first three years after the United States invaded, concludes the best effort yet to count deaths — one that still may not settle the fierce debate over the war's true toll on civilians and others.
The estimate comes from projections by the World Health Organization and the Iraqi government, based on door-to-door surveys of nearly 10,000 households. Experts called it the largest and most scientific study of the Iraqi death toll since the war began.
Its bottom line is far lower than the 600,000 deaths reported in an earlier study but higher than numbers from other groups tracking the count.
The new estimate covers a period from the start of the war in March 2003 through June 2006. It closely mirrors the tally Iraq's health minister gave in late 2006, based on 100 bodies a day arriving at morgues and hospitals. His number shocked people in and outside Iraq, because it was so much higher than previously accepted estimates.
No official count has ever been available. While the U.S. military says it does not track Iraqi deaths, it has challenged some news reports of tolls from shootings and bombings as exaggerated — indicating it does in fact monitor fatalities....
....The true toll may never be known. Many deaths go unreported in the chaos that has gripped the country, and the numbers may be tainted by sectarian bias; the Iraqi security forces and government are led by Shiites. Muslim burial traditions add to difficulties — many families are believed to simply bury loved ones before sundown on the day of death without ever reporting the fatality....
....Limiting the study to the time from the invasion in March 2003 to June 2006, and extrapolating results to the whole country, researchers arrived at the 151,000 estimate. The study authors say they are 95 percent certain that the true number is between 104,000 and 223,000. Iraq's population is roughly 26 million.
That seems low, especially because the new survey saw no increase in deaths in recent years, as previous surveys did, said Columbia University's Dr. Ronald Waldman, who has long done humanitarian research for WHO and others....
....The Associated Press began tracking civilian deaths after the new Iraqi government took office on April 28, 2005.
Since then, at least 37,547 Iraqis have lost their lives due to war-related violence, according to the AP toll, which is considered a minimum since many killings go unreported or uncounted. It's compiled from police, hospital officials, morgue workers and verifiable witness accounts, and reporters and photographers at the scenes. Insurgent deaths are not included.
This really does underscore what a goatfuck the Iraq war is. Especially compared to Afghanistan. Not that everything's peachy keen in 'Stan. The warlords still hold more real power than Pres. Karzai does and last year we managed to kill more civilians than the Talibs did. But still Afghanistan (at least as of July of last year according to the CIA's Worldfact Book) has 4,390,285 more people than Iraq does but the average annual casualties there are in the hundreds whereas in Iraq they're in the tens of thousands.
Bush really shot himself (and America) in the foot by invading Iraq. He should've stuck with the war in Afghanistan. It was more popular, both at home and abroad, and it was taken much more seriously, due to 'Stan's reputation as being Vietnam's West Asian cousin. Whereas the preparation for the invasion of Iraq was a mixture of cockiness and self-delusion. If he had applied the same level of objectivity in analyzing the situation in Iraq, he would've known to have left Iraq alone. Some corporations profitted from this but for everyone else it's a complete FUBAR.
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