Johns Hopkins has calculated that 655,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the US invasion of their country. Six Hundred Fifty Five Thousand.
Quite a difference from the 30,000 by Bush’s estimate, “give or take a thousand.” Or the 45,000 by the official media counts. Or Lancet’s original 100,000 and later 250,000. Both those numbers were contested too, even as they were now probably conservative.
Most people who know that civilian casualties have been understated are still refuting the 655,000. ” I’m not sure the count is that high, but it’s high I’m sure.” Critical thinking without the why. Johns Hopkins methods, like the Lancet’s are peer reviewed for all to see. Our government and its supporters are the only ones to refute the number. When have they yet proven to speak any truth at all?
I’ll tell you I believe the new figure. I read about how it was calculated, based on surveys and statistical studies, with the same means as are used elsewhere in other populations and other catastrophes. I cannot believe, cannot fathom, cannot mourn 650,000 Iraqi lives destroyed by American aggression. What I can conceptualize is the 5,000 more. Tell me you caught a fish one foot and one half inch long, and I’m inclined to believe you measured it.
For those who want to compare the 655,000 to how many Iraqis would have died under Sadam’s continued reign, the number is already taken into account. Let me quote the latest study:
As many as 654,965 more Iraqis may have died since hostilities began in Iraq in March 2003 than would have been expected under pre-war conditions
There is no real reason to begin the count of dead due to US foreign policy Iraqis where Lancet did. They should have included all the Iraqis killed by Clinton-Gore and their economic sanctions and continual bombing of that country. And they should have included all those killed by the senior Bush’s intial attack on Iraq. And when you get down to it, they also should have included those Iraqis killed when US covert support for Iraq fueled the Iraqi attack on Iran.
So instead of 30,000 or even 655,000, the true count of how many Iraqis have died due to US foreign policy in the last 25 years is certainly greater than 3,000,000. The US has destroyed the most secular Arab country in the world, all in the name of bringing democracy to the Middle East! This is the largest US caused Holocaust since that inflicted on SE Asia.