"casualty irrelevance" 18,000+ dead Iraqis? your tax money at work

[G_j]

http://www.motherjones.com/news/dailymojo/2004/03/03_661.html

March 30, 2004

Uncounted Dead
More than a year after the launch of the Iraqi War, the U.S. has no answer to a fairly straightforward question: how many Iraqis have been killed in the invasion and occupation of their country? The U.S. can't say how many Iraqis have been killed for a very simple reason: it doesn't keep count.

"We don't keep a list. It's just not policy," Pentagon spokeswoman Lieutenant Commander Jane Campbell explained to the New York Times earlier this month. The Pentagon may not keep track, but several organizations--with far fewer resources than the U.S. government--do.

The Iraqi Body Count Project, which tracks press accounts, puts the number of Iraqi civilians killed up to now at between 8,790 and 10,639. Last month, a report released by the influential Project on Defense Alternatives (PDA) stated that between 7,800-10,700 Iraqi combatants and between 3,200-4,300 civilians died during the combat phase of the war. The numbers were arrived at using journalistic surveys of Iraqi hospitals and death certificates, interviews with Iraqi military commanders, and other news reports, as well as U.S. records of its military operations.

The PDA charges that the Department of Defense has sought to mislead the public about the human toll of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. According to the PDA, the military exaggerated the extent to which its "precision warfare" minimized civilian casualties even as it claimed that it was impossible to get an accurate estimate of the dead. The military compounded this "casualty agnosticism" during the most publicized of wars with "casualty irrelevance" -- arguing that the body account was not an appropriate marker by which to judge the war’s success or failure.

..more..

[G_j]

1. "casualty agnosticism"

"the number of Iraqi civilians killed up to now (at) between 8,790 and 10,639. Last month, a report released by the influential Project on Defense Alternatives (PDA) stated that between 7,800-10,700 Iraqi combatants and between 3,200-4,300 civilians died during the combat phase of the war."

what has become of us?

[wtmusic]

2. The Guardian came up with

an estimate of between 14,000 and 42,000, based on interpolation of reports from Iraqi field units.

[G_j]

7. a 2003 report estimates up to 55,000 deaths on all sides

Press Release:

FOR PUBLICATION OR BROADCAST AFTER 6:00 AM, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2003

NEW REPORT ESTIMATES UP TO 55,000 DEATHS ON ALL SIDES FROM IRAQ WAR;
Physicians and Health Workers Document "Continuing Collateral Damage"
http://www.medact.org/tbx/pages/sub.cfm?id=775

Boston - The war on Iraq and its aftermath have exacted a heavy toll of
death and injury on combatants and non-combatants, according to an
international report released today. "Continuing Collateral Damage: The
Health and Environmental Costs of War on Iraq 2003" concludes that between
21,700 and 55,000 people have died since the US/UK-led invasion, with the
number of killed and injured continuing to rise. Among the dead, the report
estimates 7,800 and 9,600 Iraqi civilians. The number of injured civilians
is estimated at 20,000. The report was drafted by Medact, the London-based
affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
<snip>

[anarchy1999]

3. Thanks for putting up quickly. This is another "To the Battle Stations"

Event.

We need to send this out to every media contact we have. Call every Congressperson, every Senator. We need to scream. They have yet to figure in the casualties from DU. Just ask anyone to talk to Doug Rokke:

Dr. Doug Rokke's address on Depleted Uranium
Vieques Libre - http://www.viequeslibre.org


The San Francisco Times
"When all the news is not fit to print"

The following is a copy of the Address given by Dr. Doug Rokke, former head of the Pentagon's Depleted Uranium Project, at the National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition 17th Annual Leadership Breakfast, at the U.S. Senate Caucus Room on November 10, 2000. Adrian Cronauer was Master of Ceremonies.

Distinguished Members of Congress, Coalition Leaders, Fellow Warriors, and Guests-- It is a distinct honor to address you today. During the Gulf War I was the U.S. Army health physicist assigned to 12th Preventive Medicine AM theater command staff and the 3rd U.S. Army Medical Command headquarters. I was recalled to active duty 20 years after serving in Vietnam, from my research job with the University of Illinois Physics Department and sent to the Gulf to ensure that all military and civilian personnel were prepared for the anticipated nuclear, biological, chemical, and environmental exposures. I also was assigned to two equally vital special operations teams: Bauers Raiders and the Depleted Uranium Assessment team.

The preparations for war take many forms. Infantry soldiers learn and practice their combat skills, truck drivers practice maneuvering their rigs to make sure they can deliver supplies, and medical personnel prepare to treat the expected combat casualties. Ideally, preparations are driven by intelligence reports. However as the recent bombing of the U.S.S. Cole shows commanders may ignore intelligence information and not protect either their personnel or equipment. Prior to the start of Operation Desert Storm military intelligence reports and threats issued by President Saddam Hussein suggested that nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare and environmental hazards (NBC-E) would be employed to win battles.

As we prepared for the battle in the Deserts of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq, medical and combat unit commanders realized that medical personnel must be able to provide emergency medical care to conserve the fighting strength in an NBC-E environment. This required an assessment of medical capabilities. Four deficiencies were identified. First, an assessment of existing emergency medical response capabilities in the staging areas located within Saudi Arabia revealed the need to respond to medical emergencies resulting from combat to disease and non-battle injuries (DNBI). Second, an assessment of medical personnel arriving in Southwest Asia verified that most of them did not have the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to provide medical care for the expected nuclear, biological, chemical, and environmental (NBC-E) casualties much less the conventional weapons casualties. Third, the we verified that that most operations personnel needed a NBC-E defense refresher course that was specifically designed for verified threats. Fourth, we needed to design and construct decontamination facilities, prepare standard decontamination procedures, and train personnel to provide immediate personnel and equipment decontamination. Consequently, Bauer's Raiders, the 3d U.S. Army Medical Command theater NBC-E special operations planning and teaching team was formed. Each team member had prior combat experience and was a qualified medical and NBC-E instructor. This team also designed and supervised the construction of the NBC decontamination facilities and provided operations assistance throughout the echelons above corps, corps, and coalition forces. Since 1991 numerous Department of Defense reports have stated that medical and tactical commanders were unaware of the probable NBC-E exposures and never told about the medical and environmental consequences of these exposures. THAT IS A LIE! They were told! They were warned! Immediate and long-term medical care was recommended. The threats, health and environmental consequences, and medical care recommendations were provided in written messages and during courses such as the 3rd U.S. Army Medical Command & ARCENT Medical Management of Chemical and Biological Casualties, the NBC-E defense refresher course, the Combat lifesaver course, and the Decontamination procedures course which we taught to over 1200 military personnel in the theater between December 1990 and February 1991. I gave the classified threat briefing specifically identifying the anticipated NBC-E exposures, taught the NBC-E defense refresher course, the combat lifesaver course, and decontamination procedures course. Thus I can confirm that commanders knew what to expect and how to be prepared!!! Another important fact is that although Department of Defense officials have stated over and over that the vital chemical and biological logs were misplaced or lost, U.S. Government Accounting Office representatives and the Pulitzer prize winning author Seymour Hersch have verified that these logs were ordered destroyed in Florida during December 1996 while Congressional committees were conducting hearings on potential exposures.

snip to end:
Two hundred and 24 years ago, the Minutemen of Massachusetts responded to a call to arms and our Nation was born. Now, ten years after the Gulf War and the abandonment of our nations military personnel and their families; recruiting and retention to fill our military forces with dedicated men and women is failing because Warriors have been denied earned medical care and too many are living on food stamps!!! Our nation is at risk!

I and others have sent numerous messages to the Honorable Dr. Bernard Rostker, Deputy Secretary of Defense, who was not there, whose staff was not there, and whose staff still ignores the warnings and recommendations those of us who were there for political and economic reasons. It is painfully obvious that DOD and VA officials have no intention of accepting responsibility for what has happened! The reason is very simple! If they acknowledge what happened to our nations heroes and accept responsibility for medical care and environmental remediation then these same officials must acknowledge the consequences of our actions on non-combatants and enemy forces around the world. We suggested that Dr. Rostker, Secretary of Defense Cohen, or the President Clinton state that: During the Gulf War essential decisions to protect our warriors and win the war were made based on the tactical situation and verified threats.

Today, we know that those decisions and our deliberate actions have resulted in serious adverse health and environmental consequences. We can no longer ignore the consequences of our deliberate actions. We apologize to our warriors, our warrior's families, and the citizens of the world. We resolve to provide medical care or medical care recommendations and complete environmental remediation.

ALTHOUGH, WE HAVE OFFERED THIS SOLUTION MANY TIMES IT IS IGNORED! We owe the combat veterans of our nation the medical care they earned! We must provide all WARRIORS with education and training to ensure combat readiness and prevent a repeat of what has occurred. We must provide military personnel with all of the operational equipment they need to complete their assigned missions.

We must hold those officials who have willfully harmed our nations heroes accountable for their deliberate actions. We must force a stop to the retaliation against those warriors who try to tell the truth and who epitomize our nations ideals expressed so eloquently by General Douglas MacArthur's three immortal words: DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY

We have the ultimate obligation as leaders of the world to provide medical care or medical care recommendations to all that are sick. Finally we have an obligation to complete environmental remediation of contamination caused by our deliberate actions throughout the United States and the rest or the world! I want to recite a poem that I wrote in memory of SFC John Sitton, a Vietnam and Gulf War Veteran, who answered his nations call during two wars. He was my friend! He is a true American hero because he set up and ran the 3rd U.S. Army's medical evacuation radio communications system during the Gulf War. It is ironic that the warrior who saved so many lives died abandoned on the battlefield of political denials.

...

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT FOR GOD, OUR WARRIORS, AND THE CITIZENS OF THE WORLD! I will never quit until all individuals are cared for and environmental remediation is completed. I was ordered to complete that mission as a soldier and I will succeed even in the face of adversity! Today, I ask you to help. UNLIKE ANOTHER WARRIOR, I AM ONE SOLDIER WHO WILL NOT JUST FADE AWAY.


http://sftimes.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$61

In our name, our government is guilty of killing many people, including our very own. We have to stand up to this.

Who is Doug Rokke and he asks for all of our help:

http://nucnews.net/2000/du/00du/000131du.htm

Best source to be found on DU:

They have info on the 10 tp 20 killed by friendly fire:

http://traprockpeace.org/depleteduranium.html

[G_j]

4. kick

[Stone_Spirits]

10. and the Iraqi people

will suffer for generations, just like the Vietnamese.

[G_j]

13. How true, why should they have to suffer so much?

so sad.

[G_j]

11. Gulf War Linked To Miscarriages

http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,FL_baby_032504,00.html


Gulf War Linked To Miscarriages
United Press International
March 25, 2004,


LONDON - Women whose partners served in the Gulf War during the early 1990s were more likely to suffer miscarriages in the years that followed, U.K. researchers said.

The babies of such women were not more likely to have suffered birth defects, however, according to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine researchers. They also found no evidence to suggest the women had higher stillbirth rates, BBC News Online reported Wednesday.

The researchers questioned British veterans who served in the Gulf between August 1990 and June 1991, as well as armed forces personnel who were not sent to the Gulf.

They found women whose partners served in the Gulf were 40 percent more likely to have suffered a miscarriage before November 1997.
<snip>

[Minstrel Boy]

5. Amazing how useful the Iraqi dead were when Saddam was their killer.

Now, they're irrelevant. Even though many more are dying now at American hands than were in the years immediately preceding the invasion.

And how many Iraqis are being held now indefinitely, without charge, in appalling conditions? And how does that number compare to Saddam's political prisoners?

[G_j]

6. with a quick search

all I could find was this article from Sept.2003.
I know at some point they released about 7000, but they have also been taking new prisoners every day. I have no idea what the number is now, but I would guess its more than 10,000.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s947282.htm

US admits holding 10,000 Iraqi prisoners

US officials have admitted they are holding 10,000 prisoners in Iraq, double the number previously reported, including six claiming to be Americans and two who say they are British.

"They didn't fit into any category," said Brigadier General Janis Karpinski of the 3,800 extra people who have now been classified as "security detainees."

"We got an order from the Secretary of Defence (Donald Rumsfeld) to categorise them" about a month ago, she said, but gave few details about who these detainees were.

"We were securing them. We didn't want people to be confused" about their status, she said.

Asked if they had any rights or had access to their families or legal help while they were being "secured", she said: "It's not that they don't have rights ... they have fewer rights than EPWs (enemy prisoners of war)."

There were previously some 600 people classified as security detainees, so that category now numbers about 4,400, said General Karpinski.

There are 300 enemy prisoners of war, and about 5,300 criminals or suspected criminals in detention, making a rough total of 10,000, she added.

<snip>

[sweetheart]

8. oh dear, a sad litany of murders

When the supreme court overturned the constitution and crowned bush
dictator, i knew in my gut that 1000's of murders would ensue. He
has murder in his eyes, and sure enough, we sit here years later
tallying the results of our dictator.

http://www.iraqbodycount.net/

God is on the side of the people who do not kill 1000's indescriminantly. God is against the US mass murder machine, and
soldiers will keep dying in ugly ugly ways until God's vengence is
satisfied... likely there are 1000's of pending deaths waiting in
the queue...

Deaths death death murder kill death - the american way.

[G_j]

9. murder in their eyes

oh yes, in some time and place Karma will call.. :cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:


A year later, remembering the deadliest weapon
Iraq's Children of the Bomblet
by Kareem Fahim
March 23rd, 2004 12:45 PM


http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0412/fahim.php

In the months after the Iraq war, the unexploded bomblets sat idly in parks, sandlots, school yards, and fields, waiting for kids.

Nihad Jewad, like thousands of Baghdad's children, wandered out to play soccer in late April, after the fighting had stopped. His older brother wasn't sure whether Nihad picked up the device or fell on it. By the time he reached the Saudi-run field hospital, his left hand blown off along with the thumb on his right one, most of his life had flowed out of the blasted femoral artery in his leg.

As the doctors attempted to revive him, an American soldier guarding the clinic approached a photographer. "It's terrible about those land mines," he said, just like that. The comment struck the photographer as sarcastic. Or disingenuous, at least, since the boy clearly hadn't stepped on a mine. The clinic couldn't issue death certificates, nor did it supply coffins, so the Jewads would have to go to another hospital. Later that afternoon, Nihad's family buried him at the cemetery in Abu Ghreib.

The bomblets look like fun to kids. Shiny, tossable pieces of metal, they resemble a large D battery or a small hand grenade. Attached to the bottom are long, white ribbons, rather like streamers a child might fasten to the handlebars of a bike. Human Rights Watch (HRW) estimates that coalition forces left 2 million of these little bombs all over Iraq, killing or injuring perhaps a thousand civilians. Cluster munitions, the group reports, caused more harm to noncombatants than any other weapon during the war.

...more...

[G_j]

12. obstinate kick