http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/09/02092008bodycount.htmlQ When was the last time the United States gave a number for the Iraq death toll?
A The last time I heard the United States government give a number was President Bush, December of 2005. He said 30,000, more or less.
Q Why do a study like this?
A The first reason is the 9/11 Commission said the Pentagon was underreporting incidents of violence by a factor of 10. It’s really hard for us to have faith or confidence in discussions about whether surges are working or not working when the process by which we are monitoring violence might only be 10 percent complete.
The second thing is if some other leader said that I think the Americans have exaggerated and said only 300 people died in the 9/11 attacks, we would be appalled. We would feel as a nation that the lives of our fellow citizens had been belittled, and every time the Pentagon spokespeople essentially do the same thing with regard to civilian deaths in Iraq, it affects people in the Middle East. I am afraid that people will form really hostile stereotypes about us and might sow the seeds of future problems.
Finally, the Geneva Conventions say that an occupying army is responsible for the health and well-being of the citizens they control. . . . It’s just beneath our historical place to not expect the same of our occupiers that we expect of our policemen on the streets of Waco. It doesn’t mean that there won’t be civilians killed accidentally. That happens. It doesn’t mean that sometimes terrible things will happen and we can’t get precise numbers. It just means we consistently show that we value life and that we consistently attempt to be respectful to all humankind.Q Should the military be required to conduct death counts?
A I do think it is important that someone does it. I think it is important that someone does it in a relatively transparent and broadly seen as credible way. Maybe the U.S. military isn’t the right entity. Maybe we could farm this chore out to the Red Cross or some narrow technical group within the (United Nations) like the weapons inspectors, which I think have gained credibility in recent years.
There’s an international organization that investigates airline accidents, and what they do is incredibly political and they are just universally respected and their reports are seen as gospel. There could be an entity like that that would get the military off the hook.
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