Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
« Back to the grid | Next story »

Iraqi Death Toll Uncountable

Posted Mar 19, 08 10:49 AM CDT in World 

(Newser) – "We don't do body counts," an American general notoriously said not long after the US-led invasion of Iraq. Five years later, there is no credible count of civilian deaths in the Iraq war, the Guardian reports in a look at the wildly different estimates that have been promoted—ranging from under 100,000 to well over a million—and how they're put together.

Some counts have used morgue and hospital records; four household surveys have been done, collecting names of the dead and extrapolating to the population as a whole. Counters have been quick to attack each other's methodology, and politicians to seize the figure that suits their purposes. The Guardian calls it "the worst humanitarian catastrophe in today's world," but still a mystery as to its real scope.

Source Guardian (UK)

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Military Blocks Iraq Casualty Photos

    Jul 26, 08 5:07 AM CDT
    Military Blocks Iraq Casualty Photos Over 4,000 US troops have died in Iraq but only a handful of photographs of dead Americans have reached the media, the New York Times reports. Military regulations do not forbid taking photographs of casualties, but access to death sites is often denied. Photographers who do publish grim images often find their access to military units swiftly terminated.
    More »

  • Long Journey Home From Iraq

    Jun 8, 08 5:13 AM CDT
    Long Journey Home From Iraq One soldier's death reveals more of America's pain more starkly than Iraqi war statistics ever could. So one reporter discovered as he followed the remains of Indiana native son Sgt. Robert Joe Montgomery from a pass near the Tigris to a funeral in Scottsburg, meeting all who suffered along the way. At the riveting center of Chris Jones' haunting journey in Esquire is "Joey" himself. More »

  • Bombs Kill Dozens in Iraq

    May 1, 08 4:52 PM CDT
    Bombs Kill Dozens in Iraq As US forces engaged in heavy fighting in the Mahdi Army's Sadr City today, bombings in Baghdad and Diyala province took the lives of as many as 45 Iraqis and one US soldier, the AP reports. The Diyala bombing, in Balad Ruz, was carried out by two suicide bombers—one of them a woman—during a wedding celebration. More »

  • Bush: 4,000 US Lives 'Were Not Lost in Vain'

    Mar 24, 08 7:29 PM CDT
    Bush: 4,000 US Lives 'Were Not Lost in Vain' President Bush sympathizes with the families of 4,000 Americans slain in Iraq, he said today. They "were not lost in vain. One day, people will look back at this moment in history and say, 'Thank God there were courageous people willing to serve,'" CNN reports. In an ABC interview, Dick Cheney said Bush's "burden" in the war is even greater than that of grieving American families. More »

  • US Death Toll in Iraq War Hits 4,000

    Mar 24, 08 4:30 AM CDT
    US Death Toll in Iraq War Hits 4,000 A roadside bomb yesterday killed 4 US servicemen, hiking the American death toll in the Iraq war to at least 4,000, AP reports. Another soldier was wounded in the blast, which came less than a week after the fifth anniversary of the war. At least 61 other people died in attacks across Iraq, including a day-long bombardment of the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad. More »

1920 Revolution Brigades members stand over the Iraqi flag-draped coffin of Naseer Salam al Maamouri, their security chief, who was killed with two of his bodyguards in Baquba, December, 2007.   (AP Photo)
Iraqi morgue workers adjust shrouds over the bodies of the dead, after a suicide bombing outside an Iraqi army recruiting center in Baghdad, Iraq in this July 10, 2005 file photo.   (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)
Iraqi volunteers stand behind unidentified bodies wrapped in white sheets in the holy city of Najaf, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq , on Friday, Sept. 28, 2007.   (AP Photo)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 2)

Tags

Iraq • Iraq war • civilian casualties • Iraq death toll • statistics • Tommy Franks


Loading...

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other World Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser a team of editors and writers culls the most important stories from hundreds of U.S. and international sources and reduces them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. It's the Newser guarantee: we can take any report or column or video and pack what you need to know into 120 words or less. Newser's short-form aggregation, visual format, and unique information tools help you get more of the kind of news you want, in a quicker and more entertaining way. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »