Many of you know I love numbers. Well, here are numbers no one can love. Here are numbers to mark 1000 days of war and bloodshed:
2,339 Allied troops killed
15,955 US troops wounded in action (conservative)
53,460 Iraqi insurgents killed
30,000 Estimated Iraqi civilian deaths (very conservative)
90 Daily attacks by insurgents in November, 2005. In June, 2005: 8.
8 per cent of Iraqi children suffering acute malnutrition
47 percent of Iraqis who never have enough electricity
70 percent of Iraqis who have sewage systems that rarely work
67 percent of Iraqis who feel less secure because of occupation
82 percent of Iraqis who are “strongly opposed” to the presence of coalition troops
0 WMDs
December 14th, 2005 on 2:04 pm
When Bush made reference to 30,000 Iraqi fatalities the other day and the Pentagon rushed to state that it is only an unsubstantiated estimate, I couldn’t help but think of last year’s Lancet report (which you linked, thankfully). When the only scientific survey of Iraqi casualties is conducted and published by one of the most respected and esteemed medical journals in the world, why does it continually get ignored in lieu of estimates with no basis?