An Iraqi humanitarian organisation is reporting that 128,000 Iraqis have been killed since the beginning of the US-led invasion in 2003. 55 per cent of those have been women and children under 12, according to Dr. Hatim al-'Alwani, chairman of the Iraqiyun humanitarian organisation in Baghdad.
UPDATE: An international research organisation in Switzerland claims that US troops have killed 39,000 Iraqi civilians since the beginning of the war and 100,000 Iraqis have died since the US invasion.
UPDATE: An international research organisation in Switzerland claims that US troops have killed 39,000 Iraqi civilians since the beginning of the war and 100,000 Iraqis have died since the US invasion.
13 Comments:
Here's an even more shocking fact: In 2004, during the US-Australia illegal occupation of Iraq, MORE THAN 147,000 AUSTRALIANS DIED!
With our population of 20,000,000, that means we have a higher death rate than Iraq with it's 26,000,000.
HOWARD LIED! BUSH LIED! AUSTRALIANS DIED!
* Above based on Australian death rate of 7.38/1,000 population. Watch for spurious advocacy group stats, Ant.
I have no way of telling if the facts stated are true. I'm simply putting them out there. I love how pro-war supporters immediately deny the possibility. How would you feel if 100,000 Iraqis had died during their 'liberation'? No doubt, you'd still be happy and say they should be too. They're only Arabs, anyway...
The weight of numbers are starting to add up an are becoming harder to refute, so dodgy arguments like the above will be trotted out regularly.
Please...any lefty with a fax machine and an abacus can come up with a number and get it believed by the likes of Ant the Credulous.
At least Molly Ivins had the class to retract!
Anon,
The deaths due the effects of sanctions and the war are a different issue altogether, and go directly to how and why we are prosecuting the war. Ivins made a claim on the deaths relative to that of Saddams sins upon his people, her claim as far as we know was wrong- she retracted, an act that is so much different to those warmongers who still refuse to acknowledge the lies that led up to this war and it's effects.
Phil, thanks for talking sense.
Sadly, I dread discussions in years to come whether the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis was enough to bring 'democracy and freedom'. No doubt the Vietnamese are saying that the death and maiming of millions of their bretheren was not worth the price.
Some people never learn...
I have a good amount of contact with soldiers (friends) returning from Iraq who have said these numbers are grossly inflated from what they have seen. Although any intelligent person will immediately see through most propaganda put out by major media sources I tend to rely on people who are actually there (if possible.) These individuals have said that while there are civilians killed in attacks the bulk of those killed at this point are from the non-strategic explosive devices used by insurgents who are targeting troops. Don't bite my head off, just repeating what I was told by sources I feel know more than myself.
No head biting here. The figures cited are unconfirmed, to be sure, and should be taking with a grain of salt. BUT, there is an increasing body of surveys that tell a very disturbing story. Take Fallujah. Claims of thousands dead, many civilians, remains unconfirmed. There are many other stories like this...
It's really quite simple. To settle the issue, a thorough analysis of civilian casualties must be undertaken. The United Nations or some other third party could be instructed to do this. It might be difficult to be precise given the present turmoil, but an attempt should be made. Given the dreadful human rights situation in Iraq was a key argument for invading the country, you'd think it would be a sequitur. But it isn't because American decision makers have no real interest in the welfare of Iraqis. Invariably in severe conflict situations where high tech weaponry is used, many if not most casualties are out of sight (death from diseases related to infrastructure deterioration (starvation, contaminated water sources, etc), collateral damage due to bombing from afar, victims of mines and unexploded ordinance, etc).
The ever-insightful 'Simon' puts Iraq and Australia in the same boat re likelihood of dying.
Simon is sentenced to a course in epidemiology to offset his damnable ignorance and his irredeemable prejudice.
When was the last time Simon dodged bombs from the Coalition of the Killing when taking his kids to school?
This in the immediate aftermath of the war built on lies:
http://www.cursor.org/stories/iraq.html
I'll risk it in Australia thanks Simon.
ej
Gee, we're disputing civilian deaths? Why? Natalie Albright has been quoted as saying the deaths of 500,000 children due to 10 years of embargo, was "worth it". The Lancet Magazine & The John Hopkins Socials Studies Group published a survey 6 MONTHS AGO, estimating 100,000 civilians dead since the illegal invasion. These fellows are hardly lunatic fringe material! I think it was Thommy Franks who said "we don't count civilian dead in Iraq". Lovely, just freakin' great. YeeHar! "Bring It On!". Regards Greg Fisher. PS Ant. What's the book about?
The book is about Israel/Palestine, the ways in which our Western media selectively omits the true actions of the Israeli govt, voices of reason and dissent on both the Jewish and Arab sides, debunking the pro-Israel lobby, the ways successive Aussie govts have blindly played the Israel card. It'll be a perspective of the conflict we rarely get in the West.
It'll be out early 2006 through Melbourne University Publishing.
Thanks for asking.
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