Death Toll
Most Americans believe that 10,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed since our invasion of Iraq, in March 2003. The most commonly cited figure by the media is 70,000. However, the actual number of people killed is most likely more than one million.
The estimate of more than one million violent deaths in Iraq was confirmed three months ago in a poll by the British polling firm Opinion Research Business, which estimated 1,220,580 violent deaths since the invasion. This is consistent with the study conducted by doctors and scientists from the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health more than a year ago. Their study was published in the Lancet, Britain's leading medical journal. It estimated 601,000 people killed due to violence as of July 2006; but if updated on the basis of deaths since the study, the estimate would be more than a million. These estimates do not include those who have died because of public health problems created by the war, including breakdowns in sewerage systems and shortages of medicines.
Amazingly, some journalists and politicians dismiss these measurements because they’re based on random sampling of the population rather than a complete count of the dead. Their disregard for scientific methods and results is inexcusable. If you don’t believe in random sampling, the next time your doctor orders a blood test, tell him that he needs to take all of your blood.
The methods used in the estimates of Iraqi deaths are the same as those used to estimate the deaths in Darfur, which are widely accepted in the media. There is no reason to disbelieve the estimates or accept tallies such as that the Iraq Body Count of 73,305 to 84,222, which include only a small proportion of those killed, as an estimate of the overall death toll.
The estimate of more than one million violent deaths in Iraq was confirmed three months ago in a poll by the British polling firm Opinion Research Business, which estimated 1,220,580 violent deaths since the invasion. This is consistent with the study conducted by doctors and scientists from the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health more than a year ago. Their study was published in the Lancet, Britain's leading medical journal. It estimated 601,000 people killed due to violence as of July 2006; but if updated on the basis of deaths since the study, the estimate would be more than a million. These estimates do not include those who have died because of public health problems created by the war, including breakdowns in sewerage systems and shortages of medicines.
Amazingly, some journalists and politicians dismiss these measurements because they’re based on random sampling of the population rather than a complete count of the dead. Their disregard for scientific methods and results is inexcusable. If you don’t believe in random sampling, the next time your doctor orders a blood test, tell him that he needs to take all of your blood.
The methods used in the estimates of Iraqi deaths are the same as those used to estimate the deaths in Darfur, which are widely accepted in the media. There is no reason to disbelieve the estimates or accept tallies such as that the Iraq Body Count of 73,305 to 84,222, which include only a small proportion of those killed, as an estimate of the overall death toll.
posted by Jim O'Leary | 12:01 AM
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