Friday, December 16, 2005

George Bush and the Iraqi dead

On Monday December 12, 2005 George Bush gave a speech on Iraq to the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia . After the speech, much to everyone's surprise, he agreed to accept five questions from the audience. The first question:

Q: Since the inception of the Iraqi war, I'd like to know the approximate total of Iraqis who have been killed. And by Iraqis I include civilians, military, police, insurgents, translators.

THE PRESIDENT: How many Iraqi citizens have died in this war? I would say 30,000, more or less, have died as a result of the initial incursion and the ongoing violence against Iraqis. We've lost about 2,140 of our own troops in Iraq.

The number 30,000 is wildly inaccurate. The real number is probably 100,000 to 300,000. Last year (2005), the prominent British medical journal, Lancet (www.thelancet.com), published a study estimating that over 100,000 Iraqi civilians had died because of the war. The study determined that the risk of death by violence for civilians in Iraq is now 58 times higher than before the U.S. invasion.

Bush does not know, and he does not seem to care how many Iraqis have died as a result of the war. Once again he reveals his ignorance, his hypocrisy, and his warped values.

2 comments:

L-Guapo said...

This study was widely 'discredited' in the popular media. I think you address doubts surrounding its accuracy, though I myself consider them unfounded.
A very interesting review of the history of this controversy exists here:

This American Life Story

Dan Burke said...

Guapo -you have discredited yourself by posting your comment. If the popular media discredits something, then it automatically gains credibility; you fail to recognize that dynamic in your post.