At 11:15 AM 11/8/2004 -0600 Dan Minette wrote: >One quibble here, Gautam. I think that, since one of the most important >goals of the US invasion was to improve life for the people of Iraq, a >measure of the total effect on the people is reasonable. Thus, if the >result of the US policy in Iraq is a chaotic state where people reasonably >fear for their lives on a daily basis, then the US does bear some >responsibility for that. Thus, all the excess deaths, not just the one's >directly caused by the US, should be considered when one considers the >question "have we improved the life of the average citizen of Iraq?"
According to UNICEF, Saddam's failure to use the Oil-for-Food program revenues on, you know, *food* (and medicine) was resulting in somewhere on the order of 50,000+ extra deaths *per year* of children under the age of 12 alone. I believe that some other estimates - IIRC by the Wolrd Health Organization - put that figure as high as 100,000, but I couldn't find a link to it. http://www.unicef.org/newsline/99pr29.htm These figures, presuming they are accurate, of course don't even include political murders of adults..... and deaths of those greater than the age of 12. JDG ________________________________________________________ John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] "We have one country, one Constitution, and one future that binds us." -George W. Bush, 11/3/2004 ________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
