John Hopkins U: 100 k Iraqis Killed So Far in Bush's War

At times the war supporters claim that the war is justified by the fact that Sadam Hussein killed a lot of Iraqis, too. Is there some sort of upper limit to the number of Iraqis to be killed in this war before this justification loses its luster? The study was published in Britains most prestigious medical jouranl and is the most scientific to date.
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100 000 Iraqis killed in war
October 29, 2004

London: The first scientific study of the human cost of the Iraq war suggests that 100 000 civilians have lost their lives since their country was invaded in March 2003.

More than half of those who died were women and children killed in air strikes, researchers say.

Previous estimates have put the Iraqi death toll at 10 000 - 10 times the 1 000 members of the British, American and multi-national forces who have died in the conflict so far.

But the study, published in the Lancet, suggested Iraqi casualties could be as high as 100 times coalition losses. It was also savagely critical of the failure by coalition forces to count the Iraqi casualties.

The alarming figures provoked a furious response last night in Westminster.

Clare Short, the former cabinet minister who resigned over the war, said: "It is really horrifying. When will Tony Blair stop saying it is all beneficial for the Iraqi people since Saddam Hussein has gone? How many more lives are to be taken? It is no wonder, given this tragic death toll, that the resistance to the occupation is growing."
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MPs said the all-out assault on Fallujah expected after the November 2 US presidential elections would add to the growing death toll among civilians.

The figures are certain to provoke fresh demands at the Commons next week for Blair to avoid further civilian deaths.

The researchers recruited seven Iraqi team members who were willing to risk their lives to interview households about deaths that occurred from January 2002 to March 2003 and from March 2003 to September 2004.

In the 988 households visited, which were randomly selected, there were 46 deaths in the 14.6 months before the invasion and 142 deaths in the 17.8 months after it. - Independent Foreign Service
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