U.S. Must Face Huge Death Toll of Iraqi Civilians

[Hissyspit]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.iraqdead09oct09,0,6936773.story?track=rss

U.S. must face huge death toll of Iraqi civilians
By Gilbert Burnham and Les Roberts
October 9, 2007

Not wanting to think about civilian deaths in Iraq has become almost universal. But ignorance of the Iraqi death toll is no longer an option.

An Associated Press poll in February found that the average American believed about 9,900 Iraqis had been killed since the end of major combat operations in 2003. Recent evidence suggests that things in Iraq may be 100 times worse than Americans realize.

News report tallies suggest that about 75,000 Iraqis have died since the U.S.-led invasion. But a study of 13 war-affected countries presented at a recent Harvard conference found that more than 80 percent of violent deaths in conflicts go unreported by the press and governments.

City officials in Najaf were recently quoted on Middle East Online stating that 40,000 unidentified bodies have been buried in that Iraqi city since the start of the conflict. In a speech Sept. 5, Samir Sumaidaie, the Iraqi ambassador to the United States, stated that there were 500,000 new widows in Iraq. The Iraq Study Group similarly found that the Pentagon undercounted violent incidents by a factor of 10. Finally, last month, the respected British polling firm ORB released the results of a poll estimating that 22 percent of households had lost a member to violence during the occupation of Iraq, equating to 1.2 million deaths. This finding roughly verifies a less precisely worded BBC poll last February that reported 17 percent of Iraqis had a household member who was a victim of violence.

So multiple polls and scientific surveys all suggest the official figures and media-based estimates in Iraq have missed 70 percent to 95 percent of all deaths. The evidence suggests that the extent of underreporting by the media is only increasing with time.

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[acmavm]

1. This is a renegade country being led by international criminals.

The end.

[gateley]

2. If it's okay to keep killing OUR citizens, who the hell cares about THEIRS?

This is why I think we just can't pack up and go without helping this country heal. We are responsible for this and I would be even more ashamed if we merely worried about getting our asses out and safe and neglected those whom we've harmed.

This isn't to say our troops shouldn't come home, but it doesn't stop there.

I am so horrified at what our country has done - I never thought I'd TRULY be ashamed to be an American, but I am.