[Peace-discuss] N-G letter attacks Lancet study

[Robert Naiman]

As I understand it, under News-Gazette rules I can't respond for 16
days. Anyone want to take a crack at this? I can provide all the
data...

Transparent lies sign of a weak argument
Monday September 10, 2007

In an Aug. 27 letter, Robert Naiman claimed "scientific studies" put
the number of Iraqi civilian deaths at 1 million. I assume he was
alluding to the methodologically flawed Johns Hopkins study, which
claimed 650,000 Iraqi civilians are alleged to have died as war
casualties since March 2003. This came despite a previous Lancet
study, which authoritatively claimed between 8,000 to 100,000 Iraqi
civilians died.

If 650,000 Iraqi civilians had indeed died, that would mean over 450
Iraqis would have to have been killed every single day since March
2003. If this actually happened, just how did the liberal American and
Arab news media completely miss the daily spectacle of 450 Iraqi
deaths given their obvious infatuation with body counts?

They didn't miss it because it didn't happen.

Whether the number of civilian deaths was 6,500 or 650,000,
unquestionably the overwhelming majority of deaths in Iraq are the
direct result of Muslim-on-Muslim sectarian violence even in countries
where America has no military presence. This reality underscores the
utter failure of Islam to keep the peace, even among its own
fundamentalist adherents whose concept of innocent civilians often
excludes infidels and Muslims of other sects conveniently identified
as kafirs.

The radical arm of the anti-war movement must believe its arguments to
be weak if they have to resort to such palpable lies to advance their
cause. Once again, these Bush-hating demagogues undercut their claims
about being a peaceful, reality-based community since true people of
peace do not readily embrace such transparent lies.

HENRY SEITER JR.

Urbana

-- 
Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org

Just Foreign Policy's current estimate of Iraqi deaths due to violence
since the U.S. invasion - now more than a million:
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html