[zeestephen]

From the very beginning of this war, I have believed the number of estimated deaths is pure political propaganda.

Specifically, anti-Assad propaganda.

And, pro-refugee immigration propaganda.

Think about it. 400,000 have been killed? That's 220 people a day for five years!

And, based on previous wars, that means that close to 400,000 more people have endured serious injuries, many of them disabling or disfiguring.

Where are these 400,000 seriously injured people? Where are the graves or the bodies of 400,000 dead?

Syria is smaller than Nebraska. The entire area of conflict is confined to an area about the size of Nebraska and Iowa.

Much of the geography is essentially flat, treeless, and arid. How do you conceal 400,000 dead and 400,000 seriously wounded people?

There is no question this war has been horribly destructive and cost tens of thousands of lives.

But 400,000 dead is a grotesque and politically motivated exaggeration.

[T-Bone Texan]

I read Syria was running out of Alawite males to fight the war - they were just about all dead or fled the country.

Couldn’t an estimate be determined from that? Pretty sure we knew the number of Alawites before this whole kerfuffle.

[Cowboy Bob]

I agree. The 400,000 number of dead is total BS.