Why the Deafening Silence Regarding Iraqi Civilian Casualties?
Boulder, CO — While we frequently hear references to the thousands of U.S. troops who have died in Iraq, there is little or no mention given by the U.S. government or media to the Iraqi civilian death toll. But three weeks ago, for the second time in about 14 months, reputable sources estimated Iraqi civilian deaths to be near a million. Unlike most other estimates, these are based on surveys conducted throughout most regions of Iraq. Why then are these casualty estimates largely ignored or downplayed, while relatively low estimates based solely on fatalities confirmed in media reports are treated as credible? In July 2006, a study funded by MIT and conducted by Johns Hopkins researchers estimated the “excess deaths” in Iraq — the difference between the pre- and post-invasion death rates. This estimate was determined by surveying “12,801 people living in 47 clusters” throughout Iraq, according to study co-author Gilbert Burnham. Participants were asked about the numbers of deaths in
