[Vision2020] Iraqi War Dead: A Correction

[nickgier at adelphia.net]

Greetings:

The more I read about the Johns Hopkins study the more I'm convinced about the accuracy of its estimate of excess Iraqi deaths since our invasion.  I have revised the following paragraph and calculated the monthly death rate on the basis of the low end of the study's range.  At least 400,000 Iraqis would be alive today if Bush had not invaded their country.  Will Georgie McBush be able to wash away all the blood on his hands?

Nick Gier, Supporting Our Troops but not the worst US foreign policy misadventure since Vietnam.

After 40 months of war, the average monthly rate of Iraqis killed (about 10,000) far exceeds Saddam's average kill rate of about 1053, taking 300,000 as the number liquidated under his nearly 24-year (285-month) rule. I have used the figure of 400,000 excessive Iraqi deaths since March, 2003, the low end of the estimate of a Johns Hopkins study based on personal interviews with 1,849 families in 47 neighborhoods in all 18 regions of Iraq.  The methodology used is identical used all over the world to measure mortality in countries without a stable government.

Read this independent statistician's defense of the report: http://www.stats.org/stories/the_science_ct_dead_oct17_06.htm