Iraqi Deaths

The level of tragedy is immense enough when one hears that a 'War' based on lies in Iraq has resulted in nearly 2,400 dead American soldiers accompanied by close to 18,000 American casualties. The real horror is to be revealed by how many Iraqi's have died needlessly. Don't count on the US government to provide any estimates – as Gen. Tommy Franks said – 'We don't do body counts.' The following numbers are given by independent agencies.

Iraq Body Count Website
Iraq Body Count’s database is not intended as an estimate of total deaths. Its methodology is to record only war-related violent deaths that are reported by at least two approved international media sources. This generates a record of deaths that is accepted by the media that publish these reports in the first place. Iraq Body Count’s “minimum” number now stands at about 34,500.

The Lancet Report
In September 2004, an international team of epidemiologists conducted a “cluster sample survey” of excess civilian deaths caused by the war in Iraq, comparing the pre-invasion and post-invasion periods. Their results were published in the British medical journal, the Lancet. They estimated that at least 100,000 Iraqi civilians had died in the previous 18 months as a result of the invasion and occupation of their country. This included additional deaths from heart attacks, strokes, infectious diseases and car accidents as well as from violence. However, they found that “violence accounted for most of the excess deaths and air strikes from coalition forces accounted for most violent deaths.” The Lancet report remains the most comprehensive study of mortality in post-invasion Iraq, but its authors' calls for additional studies to clarify its findings and for a reduction in air strikes have both been ignored.

Iraq Coalition Casualty Count
Their data estimates that from 1/1/05 to 4/1/06 approximately 8500 civilians have died. No estimates are available before 2005. Since April 1, 2006 they have tabulated that 721 civilians have perished. Their website also list estimated Iraqi policemen and military deaths along with Coalition Force deaths in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Posted on The Human Stain