85,000 Iraqis killed in almost 5 years of war!

[KansasVoter]

It is bad enough we have lost almost 5000 of our troops in this damn war but we have also killed 85,000 Iraq people. Obama, get us out of this DAMN MESS. This is the main reason I started to support you! I know you need time but make it a priority!

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http://www.rr.com/news/topic/article/rr/9000/9202809/85000_Iraqis_killed_in_almost_5_years_of_war

BAGHDAD— 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.

<snip>

[Dennis Donovan]

1. This is the lowest estimate I've heard...

:shrug:

[IndianaGreen]

2. It is grossly understated. The Johns Hopkins cluster study had it at over 600,000

and was well documented.

[KansasVoter]

3. Even if 85,000 is true, which I don't think it is, it is horrible!

[librechik]

4. Huh--they left out the first year, Mar 2003-

that sort of changes things a little.

[Bonobo]

5. We killed 75,000 in the 1st Gulf War. This is a bullshit lowball number. nt

[Clio the Leo]

6. You saw this thread?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=8701234

[IndianaGreen]

7. Lancet Report: '655,000 Iraqis killed since invasion'

We posted and discussed in DU the two John Hopkins cluster surveys of Iraqi casualties which were publish by The Lancet Medical Journal in the UK:

'655,000 Iraqis killed since invasion'

Sarah Boseley, health editor
The Guardian, Wednesday 11 October 2006 16.14 BST

The death toll among Iraqis as a result of the US-led invasion has now reached an estimated 655,000, a study in the Lancet medical journal reports today.
The figure for the number of deaths attributable to the conflict - which amounts to around 2.5% of the population - is at odds with figures cited by the US and UK governments and will cause a storm, but the Lancet says the work, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, has been examined and validated by four separate independent experts who all urged publication.

In October 2004, the same researchers published a study estimating that 100,000 Iraqis had died as a result of the war since the beginning of the March 2003 invasion, a figure that was hugely controversial. Their new study, they say, reaffirms the accuracy of their survey of two years ago and moves it on.

"Although such death rates might be common in times of war, the combination of a long duration and tens of millions of people affected has made this the deadliest international conflict of the 21st century and should be of grave concern to everyone," write the authors, Gilbert Burnham and colleagues.

"At the conclusion of our 2004 study we urged that an independent body assess the excess mortality that we saw in Iraq. This has not happened. We continue to believe that an independent international body to monitor compliance with the Geneva conventions and other humanitarian standards in conflict is urgently needed. With reliable data, those voices that speak out for civilians trapped in conflict might be able to lessen the tragic human cost of future wars."

The epidemiological research was carried out on the ground by teams of doctors moving from house to house, questioning families and examining death certificates. Between May and July this year, they visited 1,849 households in 47 separated clusters across the length and breadth of Iraq. The doctors asked about deaths among members of the household in a period before the invasion, from January 2002 to March 2003, and about deaths since. In 92% of cases, they were shown death certificates confirming the cause.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/oct/11/iraq.iraq

FULL TEXT: New Lancet Report, Iraq 2003-2006

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/78999

[Rosa Luxemburg]

8. and how many maimed

[WinkyDink]

9. Democracy is messy!

[vaberella]

10. Obama HAS made it a priority---getting us out was the one of the first things he worked on.

This shit takes time as you stated. It takes a lot of time and the mess Bush put us in for 7 years can't be undone in 9 months. We need to be massively realistic here. We don't want any more people to die on both sides...but bloody hell, we need to also be aware that we can't cause any more problems suddenly leaving. That's like doing open heart surgery and not closing the chest cavity.