At least 50,000 Iraqis have died violently since 2003...are we even yet?

[Philosoraptor]

http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/fairenough/latimes220.html

BAGHDAD — At least 50,000 Iraqis have died violently since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, according to statistics from the Baghdad morgue, the Iraqi Health Ministry and other agencies — a toll 20,000 higher than previously acknowledged by the Bush administration.

Many more Iraqis are believed to have been killed but not counted because of serious lapses in recording deaths in the chaotic first year after the invasion, when there was no functioning Iraqi government, and continued spotty reporting nationwide since.

The toll, which is mostly of civilians but probably also includes some security forces and insurgents, is daunting: Proportionately, it is equivalent to 570,000 Americans being killed nationwide in the last three years.

In the same period, at least 2,520 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq.

[liberal N proud]

1. What are we trying get even for?

Iraq had no ties with 9/11, Saddam was contained and under control, he was no threat to the US.
This is cold blooded murder calculated by the bu$h regime in an attempt to assume control of the middle east.

[sweetheart]

5. People are even with their hatred

There was a lott of pre-war bloodlust spilt out here on DU and elsewhere, demanding deaths
for more deaths, like israel, just summarily murder some poor civilians disenfranchised
and call it justice.

How the fuck did we get back in viet nam, do these bozos ever stop.

[OneBlueSky]

2. other estimates (i.e. The Lancet) put the number much higher . . .

see this DU thread from last week . . .

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1483238

[Philosoraptor]

3. They left out a few Zeros. I don't doubt that 30,000 have died.

I'd NEVER accept our pentagon's official tally.

[KharmaTrain]

4. This Equates to over 500,000 Americans

I've heard numbers twisted to serve a purpose. Case in point, how the loss of Israeli citizens in the bombings there had a far bigger domestic impact based on the size of the population and then to take that number and transpose it based on the American population. Using this "formula", Iraq has 24 million people...just the 50,000 acknowledged dead (this doesn't include any casulty reports in our rush for Baghdad and the first year of totaly mayhem called the IPA) converted on the American scale would be over a half-million. This number is just astounding.

What gauls me even more was hearing someone I knew recently go off on the killing of the 2 soldiers and she said "well we should go out and kill 25 of theirs". This really pissed me off since she's Jewish and I quickly reminded her this was the same thing the Nazis and a Saddam Hussein would use to solve the problem. He then went into a 9/11 panic attack and how "we gotta stop 'em there, before they invade here". Now I'm gonna throw those numbers at her and ask if she's satisfied yet.

[Solly Mack]

6. The 2 sides of the revenge coin

For those who want revenge - no amount of death will get them "even"...hate is never satiated.

For those of us who understand you can't get even - ever - you can only seek justice. And when you deny justice...a true justice...you create more problems.

However, it is not justice, and it never will be justice, to invade a country for lies and kill,torture and detain their people. That's not justice. That's a crime.

Nor was invading Afghanistan justice. People that had nothing to do with the events on September 11, 2001 have died and continue to die in Afghanistan...because some Americans wanted blood... some in government feared looking weak if they didn't provide that blood...and some in government just wanted an excuse to invade Iraq asap.

Bush claims he went after Afghanistan for harboring terrorists...Yeah? Well what about Saudi Arabia? You know, the country where the majority of the hijackers came from. And where's UBL? He went from "wanted dead or alive" to "he's not a concern" in record time...as the Bush Regime wanted people to focus on Iraq. Invading Afghanistan was just handy for the agenda of invading Iraq.


Terrorism is a criminal act...not an act of war.

It's a tactic...and I'm sure the Bush Regime is well aware that it's a tactic..since they like to terrorize Americans with fear.

The families of those who died on September 11 will NEVER. EVER. "get even".....how does one get even for the death of a person you love? How is killing more people getting even? How does it change your loss?

And they will never have justice as long as America goes around creating more injustices instead of seeking actual justice.