More Than 5,500 Iraqi Civilians Killed Since Occupation Began

[NNN0LHI]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBHU6WELUD.html

AP Enterprise: More Than 5,500 Iraqi Civilians Killed Since Occupation Began, According to Morgue Records OMAR SINAN Associated

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Punctured by bullets or torn by bombs, broken bodies keep coming into Baghdad's main morgue. Some are dumped on the blood-splattered concrete floor. Others lie naked on metal gurneys in a hallway, waiting for autopsies as flies buzz in the spring heat.

Even before the spasm of bloodshed that began early last month, Iraqis were suffering a heavy toll from crime, tribal revenge killings, terrorist bombings and fighting between coalition troops and insurgents.

An Associated Press survey of deaths in the first 12 months of the occupation found that more than 5,000 Iraqis died violently in just Baghdad and three provinces. The toll from both criminal and political violence ran dramatically higher than violent deaths before the war, according to statistics from morgues.

There are no reliable figures for places like Fallujah and Najaf that have seen surges in fighting since early April.

Indeed, there is no precise count for Iraq as a whole on how many people have been killed, nor is there a breakdown of deaths caused by the different sorts of attacks. The U.S. military, the occupation authority and Iraqi government agencies say they don't have the ability to track civilian deaths.

But the AP survey of morgues in Baghdad and the provinces of Karbala, Kirkuk and Tikrit found 5,558 violent deaths recorded from May 1, 2003, when President Bush declared an end to major combat operations, to April 30. Officials at morgues for three more of Iraq's 18 provinces either didn't have numbers or declined to release them.

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[kalian]

1. They have been "liberated"....

:eyes:

[Wind Dancer]

2. We will never know the real

number of innocent men, women and children who have died since our invasion. I know the total is far higher, and then factor in all of the innocent wounded by our liberation.

Too sad for words to describe.

[Just Me]

9. This is likely a fraction of the total mortally wounded,...

,...to say nothing of the number of those permanently wounded, both physically and psychologically.

[Cooley Hurd]

3. And this doesn't even include Fallujah and Najaf!

There are no reliable figures for places like Fallujah and Najaf that have seen surges in fighting since early April.

By all accounts, the siege of Fallujah took a terrible toll on the civilians...

We can kill every member of the "insurgency" or of the Mahdi Militia, and this war will still be lost for the US. We have no moral authority left, nor can we provide security effectively - since the very presence of our military is the biggest irritant to peace and stability in the country.

It's time for the US and UK to pull out and a UN peacekeeping force (comprised of troops other than US troops) to enter. There is no other choice, unless we want the bloodshed on both sides to continue.

[NNN0LHI]

4. Or from...

...the morgues of three more of Iraq's 18 provinces who didn't have numbers or declined to release them.

Don

[SandyUSA]

5. It's more like over 10,000

They don't bother to count civilians, and no doubt they count many cililians as militants deaths. This is the neo-con war criminal mentality. The more deaths, the more uprisings, and therefore more perpetual war for perpetual peace primarily for Israel.

[ScrewyRabbit]

6. And this doesn't include the thousands of civilians

who were killed during the invasion.

[Barrett808]

7. A low estimate: Iraq Body Count puts the minimum number at 9148

Min: 9148
Max: 11005

http://www.iraqbodycount.net

Note that the Max figure is almost certainly an underestimate -- IBC is very scrupulous about their sources, so many deaths are going unreported.

[Chicago Democrat]

8. IraqBody Count includes since War Began

this number is after "mission accomplished".

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

10. Whether it's 5k, 20k or 1, still a bullshit war.

The numbers are all irrelevant after the first death.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

11. Those figures are only for Baghdad and the three provinces of....

...Karbala, Kirkuk, and Tikrit. There are a total of 18 governorates in Iraq: Al Anbar, Al Basrah, Al Muthanna, Al Qadisiyah, An Najaf, Arbil, As Sulaymaniyah, At Ta'mim, Babil, Baghdad, Dahuk, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Karbala', Maysan, Ninawa, Salah ad Din, and Wasit.

My guess is that the total number of dead civilians caused by U. S. military actions in Iraq probably exceeds 50,000 since the beginning of the invasion. The air strikes at the beginning of the war were very heavy in populated centers, and probably accounted for at least half of the total noted above.