Posted on 05/16/2006 5:46:34 PM PDT by Retain Mike
Iraq Has a Lower Violent Death Rate Than Washington, Baltimore or Atlanta
May 16, 2006
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Interesting story today in the New York Sun:
"It's that time of year when New Yorkers start making their summer vacation plans. Renting a place in the Hamptons? Nah, been there, done that. How about a Parisian jaunt? Noooo. Too many riots. Well, how about visiting a country that's ancient, historic, beautiful and exotic - Iraq? Sure, there's a little war going on there, but when you look at the violent death statistics in the world, [Iraq is] safer than a number of other popular travel destinations. Believe it or not. I happened to catch Rep. Steve King, a Republican of Iowa, on C-span last week and he rattled off some startling figures that demonstrate how off-base journalists are when it comes to reporting on the war in Iraq.
"According to Mr. King, the violent death rate in Iraq is 25.71 per 100,000. That may sound high, but not when you compare it to places like Colombia 61.7" per 100,000 death rate, violent death rate. South Africa, has a higher violent death rate per 100,000: 49.6 per 100,000. Even Jamaica has a higher violent death rate than does Iraq: 32.4, and Venezuela comes in at 31.6 violent deaths per 100,000. "How about the violent death rates in American cities? New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina was 53.1," violent death rate per 100,000. "FBI statistics for 2004-05 have Washington" DC's violent death rate at 45.9 per 100,000; Baltimore at 37.7 per 100,000, and Atlanta at 34.9 per 100,000. The figure again from Iraq, 25.71 per 100,000, and that includes the war.
So Iraq, I mean, if you're just going to roll the dice and take your chances, Iraq's a much safer place to go than Washington or Jamaica or New Orleans pre-Katrina, or Venezuela!
END TRANSCRIPT
Read the Background Material...
(New York Sun: Spinning The Reality Of Iraq War)
*Note: Links to content outside RushLimbaugh.com usually become inactive over time.
There are approximately 600 people murdered in NYC each year. There are just about 8 million people in NYC.
The population of Baghdad is around 6 million people and there are reports of up to 600 people being shot to death in one month in the city alone. Now you tell me which is the more violent and dangerous city. Of course it's a war zone and is relatively mild as far as wars go, but Baghdad is not a safer city than NYC.
Many US Cities Have Had Murder Rates Higher Than Iraq's 2006 'Violent Death' Rate
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1762104/posts
I think King may have got the numbers wrong. I heard that the rate in Iraq was 56 per 100,000, not 26.
the closer you are to our tallest buildings, the more likely you are to be murdered.
85% of those murdered in Baltimore are criminals. If you not involved in the drug trade or scene, your chance of being murdered goes down dramatically. If 85% of those represented by the Iraqi death rate are terrorists or criminals then you have a point. But if not, you could certainly argue that you have a better chance of being an innocent victim of violence in Iraq than in Baltimore or another city.
Q: (Inaudible.)
Rumsfeld: I did that once [said DC has a higher murder rate then Baghdad], and I was advised that it wasnt the best idea. But there are hundreds of homicides in most major cities in the world without getting particular.
The safety of the Iraqi people? The safety of visitors?
I know Iraq is a lot safer for our troops than Korea was. And Iraq has been a lot safer for Iraqis than Korea was for Koreans (1.6 million Korean civilians died during Truman's Korean War)
Here's a table showing military deaths for 45 months of war in Iraq and in Korea.
Column 1 - US deaths each month, from war's beginning in Iraq
Column 2 - US deaths each month, from war's beginning in Korea
Column 3 - running totals of monthly deaths (each month + all the previous months) in Iraq
Column 4 - running totals of monthly deaths (each month + all the previous months) in Korea
Column 5 - semiannual totals of deaths in Iraq
Column 6 - semiannual totals of deaths in Korea
Column 7 - yearly totals Iraq
Column 8 - yearly totals Korea.
65 | 2,849 | running tot I | running tot K | SemiA I | SemiA K | each year I | each year K |
73 | 1,754 | 138 | 4603 | ||||
37 | 3,345 | 175 | 7,948 | ||||
30 | 386 | 205 | 8,334 | ||||
47 | 3,475 | 252 | 11,809 | ||||
35 | 2,154 | 287 | 13,963 | 287 | 13,963 | ||
30 | 657 | 317 | 14,620 | ||||
43 | 2,068 | 360 | 16,688 | ||||
82 | 886 | 442 | 17,574 | ||||
40 | 1,072 | 482 | 18,646 | ||||
47 | 1,161 | 529 | 19,807 | ||||
19 | 806 | 548 | 20,613 | 261 | 6,650 | 548 | 20,613 |
52 | 314 | 600 | 20,927 | ||||
147 | 504 | 747 | 21,431 | ||||
88 | 1,394 | 835 | 22,825 | ||||
44 | 1,659 | 879 | 24,484 | ||||
61 | 531 | 940 | 25,015 | ||||
71 | 221 | 1,011 | 25,236 | 463 | 4,623 | ||
84 | 206 | 1,095 | 25,442 | ||||
68 | 147 | 1,163 | 25,589 | ||||
140 | 175 | 1,303 | 25,764 | ||||
73 | 226 | 1,376 | 25,990 | ||||
108 | 201 | 1,484 | 26,191 | ||||
62 | 484 | 1,546 | 26,675 | 535 | 1,439 | 998 | 6,062 |
36 | 450 | 1,582 | 27,125 | ||||
52 | 412 | 1,634 | 27,537 | ||||
82 | 619 | 1,716 | 28,156 | ||||
77 | 1,017 | 1,793 | 29,173 | ||||
55 | 302 | 1,848 | 29,475 | ||||
85 | 197 | 1,933 | 29,672 | 387 | 2,997 | ||
54 | 173 | 1,987 | 29,845 | ||||
96 | 243 | 2,083 | 30,088 | ||||
88 | 541 | 2,171 | 30,629 | ||||
67 | 310 | 2,238 | 30,939 | ||||
65 | 199 | 2,303 | 31,138 | ||||
56 | 471 | 2,359 | 31,609 | 426 | 1,937 | 813 | 4,934 |
33 | 1,006 | 2,392 | 32,615 | ||||
81 | 7 | 2,473 | 32,622 | ||||
71 | 5 | 2,544 | 32,627 | ||||
61 | 63 | 2,605 | 32,690 | ||||
51 | 52 | 2,656 | 32,742 | ||||
70 | 360 | 2,726 | 33,102 | 367 | 1,493 | ||
76 | 131 | 2,802 | 33,233 | ||||
108 | 129 | 2,910 | 33,362 | ||||
76 | 83 | 2,986 | 33,445 | ||||
30 | 33,475 | ||||||
I take it he was near the Naval base in SouthEast DC? There is a DC custom of always naming the quadrant of the city in the address (NW, NE, SE, SW) because many of the same intersection names occur in all four quadrants.
DC was redlined by real estate agents soon after the Civil Rights act was passed in 1964 and blacks began streaming into DC to take civil service jobs. Unfortunately, this forced poor blacks into NE and SE neighborhoods, causing "white flight" into NW neighborhoods (SW contains few residences), or out to the suburbs, instead of integration. The result was some entrenched pockets of poverty and inter-generational poverty culture.
It's a fair point.
Especially considering that quite a few of those counting in Iraq's violent death rate need killing -- suicide bombers, Al Qaida, foreign fighters and those of similar ilk.
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