Posted on 10/14/2009 7:02:57 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Iraq's government said at least 85,000 people were killed from 2004 to 2008, officially answering one of the biggest questions of the conflict - how many perished in the sectarian violence that nearly led to a civil war.
What remains unanswered is how many died in the 2003 U.S. invasion and in the months of chaos that followed it.
A report by the Human Rights Ministry said 85,694 people were killed from the beginning of 2004 to Oct. 31, 2008 and 147,195 were wounded. The figures included Iraqi civilians, military and police but did not cover U.S. military deaths, insurgents, or foreigners, including contractors. And it did not include the first months of the war after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
The Associated Press reported similar figures in April based on government statistics obtained by the AP showing that the government had recorded 87,215 Iraqi deaths from 2005 to February 2009. The toll included violence ranging from catastrophic bombings to execution-style slayings.
Until the AP report, the government's toll of Iraqi deaths had been one of the war's most closely guarded secrets. Both supporters and opponents of the conflict have accused the other of manipulating the toll to sway public opinion.
The 85,694 represents about 0.3 percent of Iraq's estimated 29 million population. In a sign of how significant the numbers are, that would be akin to the United States losing about 900,000 people over a similar period.
The ministry's report came out late Tuesday as part of a larger study on human rights in the country. It described the years that followed the invasion, which toppled Saddam Hussein's regime, as extremely violent.
"Through the terrorist attacks like explosions, assassinations, kidnappings and forced displacements, the outlawed groups have created these terrible figures," it said.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
Gee thought it was 800k plus?
Oh well; war is hell.
Regards.
Hmmm, mmmm, mmmm, mmmm, I didn’t see mentioned how many of those Iraqis were killed by terrorists. I also didn’t see a listing of how many Iraqis were dying per year under Hussein.
It would seem some of these facts would be relevant. All those mass graves came from somewhere. Duh!
This never was a zero sum gain. The media sure likes to propagandize, even if it was full of —— for the duration for the war.
Better them than us, the world could use less muzzies.
Anyone ever heard of Project Censored?
http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/1-over-one-million-iraqi-deaths-caused-by-us-occupation/
Does anyone find that number ‘suspect’?
That would be the "legitimate resistance to occupation" which A.N.S.W.E.R., Code Pink, Iraq Vets Against the War, Cindy Shithead, and other like minded groups and individuals supported. I hope they're proud. (Sad thing is, they probably are.)
That’s what it comes down to. I wouldn’t have minded if it was 29 million.
Nobody deserves to have their wife raped, then to be killed because they objected? Those Kurds didn’t deserve to be attacked with chemical weapons. Hussein’s kids should never have been allowed to slaughter Iraqis at will. Girls should have been allowed to go to school, and women should have been treated like full citizens.
I may not agree with the radical Muslim nut-jobs, but I don’t agree with the human rights abuses mentioned above either.
I am sick of the world class propagandists (not you) that overlook all this, in a constant effort to make it look like those Iraqis died because of the U.S.
Bull ——! I’m not buying it.
No mention of the terrorist, ever...
Hate to break it to you, but there is a big Christian and secular segment in Iraq.
I had heard he was feeding 25,000 a year into the shredders, so this looks like a net gain to me.
There were some huge mass graves found. I doubt we have any concept of what was going on over there.
The guy had to be put down. That’s all there was to it. He was a regional threat.
Frankly Iran is in the same screwed up place too.
Your net gain comment is probably close to the truth.
We were able to kill many terrorists over there. That was a step in the right direction IMO.
True, but as with the Germans of 1938, the Japanese of 1938, the Iraqis of 1989 and 2002 couldn't take care of business.
So we had to. Simple.
I kind of agree but comparing Iraq to 1930s Germany and Japan is a hyperbole. Iraq was nowhere near becoming a world power let alone a regional power.
What I was referring to is that the Iraqis could have prevented their ultimate fate by deposing their ruler.
Oh, okay. Then I totally agree.
Do you really want to know what Iraq will be like under Saddam if he was still alive? It would had been the end of sanctions and Iraq would be on way back to becoming a regional power.....
Then we could of let him and Iran duke it out. However, oil prices would really suck.
So then what was the point for the U.S. to get entangled in the Persian Gulf War back in '90?
Spot on. And imagine Uday and Usay taking over in a few years.
Saddam Hussein was killing 100,000 per year, so we’ve made quite and improvement at less than 20,000 per year.
In fact, the Iraq War can then be said to have saved 415,000 lives. Over 5 years,
Saddam’s Death Rate: 500,000.
Iraq War Death Rate: 85,000.
Lives Saved: 415,000.
Bump!
85,000 is quite a bit less than the 1,000,000 that the AP was spouting as gospel not so very long ago. Given their institutional opposition to the war and their consistent bias against its pursuit I question even this figure - it is, after all, an “AP report.”
The one million number could never have been a serious estimate — not even to America's enemy within.
No, believe me, a huge number of people swallowed the "one million" figure whole because they wanted to. It was a terrific piece of propaganda, and it isn't going to be displaced by the truth anytime soon.
Include this: http://www.iraqbodycount.org/
And the bogus Lancet Report of 665,000+ hyped by DU:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x513711
If Saddam was still in power, he could have killed more throughout his life.
Even Ron Paul spouted these lies.
We have got to do something about the MSM.
Ron Paul is a useful idiot.
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