Iraq: Better or Worse?

Remember when Right-wingers used to make the argument that the war was justifiable because of all of those people Saddam had killed? Remember how the death toll under all of those years under Saddam was much worse than anything we could do?

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — More than 14,000 civilians have been killed in Iraq in the first half of this year, an ominous figure reflecting the fact that “killings, kidnappings and torture remain widespread” in the war-torn country, a United Nations report says.

Killings of civilians are on “an upward trend,” with more than 5,800 deaths and more than 5,700 injuries reported in May and June alone, it says.

The report, a bimonthly document produced by the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq, covers May and June, and includes chilling casualty figures and ugly anecdotes from the insurgent and sectarian warfare that continues to rage despite the establishment of a national unity government and a security crackdown in Baghdad.

[…]

Figures from the Medico-Legal Institute in Baghdad and the Ministry of Health show that the total number of civilians killed from January to June was 14,338.

In late June, the Ministry of Health “acknowledged information stating that since 2003 at least 50,000 persons have been killed in violence and stated the number of deaths are probably under-reported.” the report says.

“The Baghdad morgue reportedly received 30,204 bodies from 2003 to mid-2006. Deaths numbering 18,933 occurred from ‘military clashes’ and ‘terrorist attacks’” between April 5, 2004, and June 1, 2006.

The report also notes the probes by the United States into the alleged killings of 24 civilians in Haditha by U.S. troops as well the deaths caused by military operations throughout the country.

[…]

The killing of a U.S. soldier on Monday — which occurred at 12:55 p.m. (0955 GMT) in western Baghdad — brought the number of U.S. military deaths in the Iraq war to 2,548. The soldier was from Multi-National Division Baghdad. [“U.N.: 14,000 Iraqis killed in 2006″ (CNN.com)]

Is it better or worse yet? I’m really feeling that maybe it’s worse.

tags: Iraq, Saddam Hussein, death toll

One comment

1. on July 19, 2006 at 1:17 pm

   Big Dog said:

   All the numbers do not add up to the half a million or so that Hussein killed. The US lost 92,000 American military in the South Pacific in WWII so we are no where near that.

   Mother nature killed half a million in a tsunami a few years ago, are right wingers to blame for that as well, because without us there would be no death….

   If the acts of Hezbollah and Hamas with their Iranian and Syrian backing do not show how dangerous terrorists 9or more accurately, Islamic fundamentalists) are then what will?

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