How Many Iraqis Did We "Liberate" From Life on Earth?

How Many Iraqis Did We "Liberate" From Life on Earth?

Saturday 07 August 2010

by: Robert Naiman, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed

photo
(Photo: DVIDSHUB; Edited: Jared Rodriguez / t r u t h o u t)

Is there a man or woman in America today who is willing to stand at noon in the public square and claim that demands to bomb, invade, and occupy other people's countries have anything to do with human liberation?

If such people can be found, let them answer a few simple questions about the US invasion and occupation of Iraq.

How many Iraqis did we "liberate" from the companionship of their loved ones?

How many Iraqis did we "liberate" from dwelling in the houses and towns and the country of their birth?

How many Iraqis did we "liberate" from life on Earth?

If any American who claims to believe that indefinite continuation of the war in Afghanistan -- or a US/Israeli military attack on Iran -- is justified by humanitarian concerns cannot give a fact-based and intellectually coherent answer to the question of how many Iraqis have lost their lives as a result of the US invasion and occupation of Iraq, do not that person's claims for "humanitarian" war, bombing, and occupation deserve zero credence?

To state that we cannot know how many have died is outrageously false. It is vacuously true that we cannot know exactly how many have died. But in the diverse fields of human inquiry and endeavor, there are many large numbers that are important which we cannot know exactly. If understanding the magnitude of a number is important, we do not throw up our hands and say, "we can never know." Imagine a reference book that said, "we don't know how many humans are alive on Earth today, because no one has counted them all."

If we want to understand the magnitude of a large number that we cannot count, we estimate it.

And there have now been several attempts to estimate the death toll. In November 2008, Tim Lambert published the following table comparing several estimates, extrapolating the numbers to October 2008:

Survey ..................Violent deaths .....Excess deaths
ILCS .................... 160,000
Lancet 1 ..............350,000 ..................510,000
IFHS .....................310,000..................740,000
Lancet 2: ..............1,200,000..............1,300,000
ORB: .....................1,200,000

If Lambert were to revisit the issue today, he would produce a table that would look something like this:

Survey ..................Violent deaths .....Excess deaths
ILCS .................... 180,000
Lancet 1 ..............400,000 ..................580,000
IFHS .....................350,000 ..................840,000
Lancet 2 ..............1,370,000 ..............1,480,000
ORB .....................1,370,000

These numbers are different from one another. Based on these different numbers, can we say anything meaningful about how many Iraqis have died as a result of the US invasion and occupation beginning in March 2003?

Absolutely we can. We can make the following statement with very high confidence: "Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died as a result of the US invasion."

So, if you happen to run into any American who claims to support the open-ended war and occupation of Afghanistan, or a US/Israeli attack on Iran, or any other demand to bomb, invade, or occupy someone else's country based on "humanitarian" motivations, ask them to say this sentence: "Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died as a result of the US invasion and occupation of their country." If they can't say this sentence, you can safely ignore anything else they have to say.

Creative Commons License
This work by Truthout is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
http://www.truth-out.org/how-many-iraqis-did-we-liberate-from-life-...

Views: 31

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Doc Vega posted blog posts
18 hours ago
Mr. Sizzle favorited Less Prone's video
yesterday
tjdavis posted a photo
Tuesday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

The Saga of Joe Adams May Have Solved What's Behind the Numerous Disappearances Going on in our National Forests

     The year is 2023 in September. A nature’s photographer and experienced survivalist, Joe Adams…See More
Monday
Sandy posted a video

Aron Siri's opening statement, Senate Hearing on Covid Vaccines, May 25

Opening statement Aaron Siri, Managing Partner, Siri & Glimstad, L.L.P.Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Permanent Subcommittee on Investiga...
Monday
cheeki kea replied to cheeki kea's discussion Tartaria
"A smidgeon of facts have come to light. In English a misspelling suddenly occurred where an extra R…"
Monday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

The Cancel Culture Vulture

  Better to shut them down than hear their point of viewCancel culture coming after youHelping to…See More
Saturday
Doc Vega posted a photo
Friday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

The Fingerprint

The Fingerprint On a dance with the unpredictability of the signals you sendA solemn pact with my…See More
Friday
Sandy posted a video
Friday
tjdavis posted a video
Jul 9
Burbia replied to Burbia's discussion Trump Receives Marching Orders
Jul 9
Less Prone favorited Burbia's video
Jul 9
Less Prone replied to Burbia's discussion Trump Receives Marching Orders
"Bullets can be effective in reinforcing ownership."
Jul 9
Burbia posted a discussion

Trump Receives Marching Orders

Netanyahu has made 3 visits to the White house since Trump's second term as President of the United…See More
Jul 9
Burbia commented on Burbia's video
Thumbnail

Ben Shapiro Just LOST HIS MIND — There's No Coming Back From This

"Omg. The Ben Shapiro voice that Luke is imitating here couldn't be any more comedic to…"
Jul 8
Burbia posted a video

Ben Shapiro Just LOST HIS MIND — There's No Coming Back From This

Get the magnesium your body needs - https://wearechange.shop/product/magnesium-glycinate/Ben Shapiro Just LOST HIS MIND — There's No Coming Back From ThisHig...
Jul 8
cheeki kea posted photos
Jul 8
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Jul 7
Burbia posted a video

A few reasons I don’t like jews. It’s not complicated.

These are the reasons I became antisemitic. It’s not complicated. Sure, I could go on for days, weeks, months outlining everything, but I don’t need to. This...
Jul 6

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted