No, these are acts of adolescents playing grown-up. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alan Sondheim" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2005 10:07 AM Subject: Re: 39,000 Iraqis killed in fighting - study (fwd)
We _are_ grown up. This is us. Alan On Thu, 14 Jul 2005, Joel Weishaus wrote: > It's not about numbers, but that violent solutions to human conflicts have > gone on too long. > When do we grow up? > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Alan Sondheim" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 9:39 PM > Subject: 39,000 Iraqis killed in fighting - study (fwd) > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2005 16:04:44 -0400 (EDT) > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: 39,000 Iraqis killed in fighting - study > > 39,000 Iraqis killed in fighting - study > > Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:43 PM BST > > By Irwin Arieff > > Reuters UK > http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticleSearch.aspx?storyID=191558+11-Jul-2005+RTRS&srch=death+iraqi > > UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Some 39,000 Iraqis have been > killed as a direct result of combat or armed violence > since the U.S.-led invasion, a figure considerably > higher than previous estimates, a Swiss institute > reported on Monday. > > The public database Iraqi Body Count, by comparison, > estimates that between 22,787 and 25,814 Iraqi > civilians have died since the March 2003 invasion, > based on reports from at least two media sources. > > No official estimates of Iraqi casualties from the war > have been issued, although military deaths from the > U.S.-led coalition forces are closely tracked and now > total 1,937. > > The new estimate was compiled by the Geneva-based > Graduate Institute of International Studies and > published in its latest annual small arms survey, > released at a U.N. news conference. > > It builds on a study published in The Lancet last > October, which concluded there had been 100,000 "excess > deaths" in Iraq from all causes since March 2003. That > figure was derived by conducting surveys of Iraqi > mortality data during the war and comparing the results > to similar data collected before the war. > > The government rejected The Lancet's conclusions > shortly after their publication. > > The Swiss institute said it arrived at its estimate of > Iraqi deaths resulting solely from either combat or > armed violence by re-examining the raw data gathered > for the Lancet study and classifying the cause of death > when it could. > > Its 2005 small arms survey generally concludes that > conflict deaths from small arms have been vastly > underreported in the past, not just in Iraq but around > the globe. > > The total number of direct victims of such weapons > likely totaled 80,000 to 108,000 during 2003, for > example, compared to earlier estimates by other > researchers of 27,000 to 51,000 deaths from small arms > that year. > > INACCURATE ESTIMATES > > The undercounting is due mainly to a paucity of hard > data and an over-reliance by analysts on estimates > based on government and media accounts of wars, "which > are often inaccurate," according to the 2005 survey. > > The number of indirect deaths around the world that can > be blamed on small arms has also been underestimated, > as these types of weapons typically trigger significant > social disruption that leads to malnutrition, > starvation, and death from preventable disease, > according to the survey. > > Depending on the nature of the conflict, small arms > cause between 60 percent and 90 percent of all direct > war deaths, the study said. > > Following a formula developed at the United Nations, > the small arms survey covers a broad range of hand-held > arms, ranging from pistols and rifles to military-style > machine guns, small mortars and portable anti-tank > systems. > > The survey's release coincided with the opening of a > weeklong U.N. conference intended to assess progress on > a U.N. action plan for cracking down on the illicit > global trade in small arms, adopted in 2001. > > While worldwide public attention is riveted on the > devastating potential of biological, chemical and > nuclear weapons, small arms typically carried by a > single individual "are the real weapons of mass > destruction," said Ambassador Pasi Patokallio of > Finland, the conference's chairman. > > Heavy concentrations of small arms in a region are > often enough to fuel a conflict, the small arms survey > said. > > In the tense Middle East, for example, private gun > ownership is widespread and on the rise, and > "representatives of several governments have expressed > concern that gun violence is becoming a major threat to > public safety and a source of regional instability," > the survey reported. > > It estimated that 45 million to 90 million small arms > were in the hands of civilians across that region. > > © Reuters 2005. All rights reserved. Republication or > redistribution of Reuters content, including by > caching, framing or similar means, is expressly > prohibited without the prior written consent of > Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are > registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters > group of companies around the world. Close This Window > > _______________________________________________________ > > portside (the left side in nautical parlance) is a news, > discussion and debate service of the Committees of > Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism. 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