Accidental Blogger

A study by scientists published in the medical journal, Lancet reports that Iraqi civilian deaths have soared past all previous estimates. The report puts the number of deaths after the US led invasion at 655,000, which is roughly 58 times higher than the unofficial claim.

"We estimate that as a consequence of the coalition invasion of March 18, 2003, about 655,000 Iraqis have died above the number that would be expected in a non-conflict situation," said Gilbert Burnham of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the United States.

That means 2.5 percent of the Iraqi population have died because of the invasion and ensuing strife, he said.

George W. Bush was asked about this report at Wednesday’s press conference.

U.S. President George W. Bush dismissed the report as not credible. "The methodology is pretty well discredited," he said at a White House news conference.

But Bush added: "I do know that a lot of innocent people have died, and that troubles me, and it grieves me. And I applaud the Iraqis for their courage in the face of violence."

So whom are we to believe – the scientists or our president whose record on truth telling and rosy predictions about Iraq have been rather sketchy until now? 

" ..The job is getting done. Iraq is more free every day. The citizens are beginning — the lives of the citizens are improving every day. And one thing is for certain; there won’t be any more mass graves and torture rooms and rape rooms. The tyrant will no longer come back to threaten the Iraqi people. These people will be able to live in — these Iraqi citizens will not only be able to live in a free society, they’ll be able to live in a society that is free from one of the most brutal dictators in the world’s history.

George W. Bush to Reporters in Mexico
January 12, 2004

No mass graves? 

"Asked for directions to one newly found pile of bodies in Baghdad, Haider Latif Ugaili, an 18-year-old black-market gasoline vendor, replied: That one’s over there. But we found three bodies here this morning.

Daylight Tuesday brought the discovery of at least 86 shot or strangled men across the city, most of them with hands tied and many of them tortured, according to police. They included 27 corpses in one of the first mass graves to be found in the capital since the U.S. invasion three years ago."  .. . The Washington Post, March 16, 2006

No torture? 

"The bodies of 40 men have been found dumped in the streets of Baghdad over the past 24 hours, Iraqi police said today.

The men – who all appeared to be victims of sectarian death squads – showed signs of having been tortured. They had been shot and had their hands and feet were bound." . . . . .  . . Guardian Unlimited, September 28, 2006

No rape? 

Hidden victims of a brutal conflict: Iraq’s women

Abduction, rape and murder are the punishments for any woman who dares to hold a professional job. A month-long investigation by The Observer reveals the terrible reality of life after Saddam…  Guardian Unlimited, October 8, 2006

Whoops! That makes it 0 for 3 in sporting terms – not the horse to back, if you are the betting type.  Yet, Bush is again asking American voters to support his losing team, because horror of horrors, the Democrats might raise our taxes !