This article was in the Globe and Mail today, I was just wondering if folks thought the action was worth the cost in human terms on both sides. And what was accomplished as a result, what the eventual outcome will be?
Quote:
A report by the Human Rights Ministry said 85,694 people were killed from the beginning of 2004 to Oct. 31, 2008 and 147,195 were wounded. The figures included Iraqi civilians, military and police but did not cover U.S. military deaths, insurgents, or foreigners, including contractors. And it did not include the first months of the war after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
The Associated Press reported similar figures in April based on government statistics obtained by the AP showing that the government had recorded 87,215 Iraqi deaths from 2005 to February 2009. The toll included violence ranging from catastrophic bombings to execution-style slayings.
Until the AP report, the government's toll of Iraqi deaths had been one of the war's most closely guarded secrets. Both supporters and opponents of the conflict have accused the other of manipulating the toll to sway public opinion.
The 85,694 represents about 0.3 per cent of Iraq's estimated 29 million population. In a sign of how significant the numbers are, that would be akin to the United States losing about 900,000 people over a similar period.
This article was in the Globe and Mail today, I was just wondering if folks thought the action was worth the cost in human terms on both sides. And what was accomplished as a result, what the eventual outcome will be?
Don't be a doofus, reducing the rate of increase and calling that a decrease only works when calculating US unemployment figures!!
True, a reduced rate of increase really doesn't matter unless you're one of the ones that's still breathing because of it. I would love to see the breakdown on death toll. Whenever a death toll number like that comes out, the assumption that many people make is that the US military killed 85,000 people, when the truth is that many of those were killed by other Iraqi's.
Even democracy stinks when it's shoved down your throat.
Would have been great if all the American assets we've used had actually helped the Iraqi people. I'm all for helping democracy movements anywhere in the world, let's just do it the right way. Iraq is the poster child of just how screwed up we can be.
True, a reduced rate of increase really doesn't matter unless you're one of the ones that's still breathing because of it. I would love to see the breakdown on death toll. Whenever a death toll number like that comes out, the assumption that many people make is that the US military killed 85,000 people, when the truth is that many of those were killed by other Iraqi's.
The Geneva conventions calls for waring parties to uniform their army's. You can be executed by the emeny if found to be disguised in their uniform.
However when you have a emeny that dresses and lives among the civilian population. There is going to be unintentional losses. You can't put those losses on our boy's. Put those losses on the COWARD'S who are hiding among the civilians.
It is very hard to pick out the good Zebra's from the bad Zebra's, when all you can see are Zebra's and Zebra's are firing at you..
I have avoided for 4 years any discussion of the Iraq war. I was very passionate in my opinions shortly after the war and came to realize the futility of discussing it at the time. I had hoped that this far down the road with a much clearer perspective on the politics, the results and the costs both human and financial that there would be a convergence of the perspectives, but I see not much has really changed. It may be that this generation simply will have to wait for historians to do that for us. I wonder what that judgement will be?
worth it to who?obviously it is to the people who run the train!to the millions of tax payers who foot the bill,nope, to the moms and dads and families of our troops,nope!its all about the money,it always is
John USYacht 27 "Cora Lee"
Never Forgotten
