Thirty Thousand
Dec. 12th, 2005 06:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amari_z For the first time in the two and half years since the U.S. invaded Iraq, the president has addressed the issue of the number of Iraqi's killed in the war. Of course he only did so because he was asked the question.
From the New York Times:
Of course the administration doesn't keep track of this number--why should it, it's not like the American government has any responsibility towards the population it has invaded a country to "liberate."
Interestingly, the total Bush gave matches roughly the current counter at Iraq Body Count (minimum 27,383, maximum 30,892). The IBC number, however, is a count of civilian casualties only, and not based on an estimate of total deaths, as Bush implies his number is, but on reported deaths. From the Iraq Body Count website:
From the New York Times:
For the first time, the president also put a number on the approximate numbers of Iraqis killed - 30,000 he said - since the beginning of the American-led invasion in March 2003. Mr. Bush gave out the number during an unusual question-and-answer session after the speech with members of the World Affairs Council, the host of the event.
"How many Iraqi citizens have died in this war?" Mr. Bush said in response to the first inquiry he received. "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."
White House officials said that Mr. Bush based the number on public estimates of the death toll, not on an internal government accounting. The Pentagon does not keep statistics on the numbers of Iraqis killed.
Of course the administration doesn't keep track of this number--why should it, it's not like the American government has any responsibility towards the population it has invaded a country to "liberate."
Interestingly, the total Bush gave matches roughly the current counter at Iraq Body Count (minimum 27,383, maximum 30,892). The IBC number, however, is a count of civilian casualties only, and not based on an estimate of total deaths, as Bush implies his number is, but on reported deaths. From the Iraq Body Count website:
We are not a news organization ourselves and like everyone else can only base our information on what has been reported so far. What we are attempting to provide is a credible compilation of civilian deaths that have been reported by recognized sources. Our maximum therefore refers to reported deaths - which can only be a sample of true deaths unless one assumes that every civilian death has been reported. It is likely that many if not most civilian casualties will go unreported by the media. That is the sad nature of war.
