Dear Margaret Griffis,
AntiWar.com

I hope you’re well.

I read on Antiwar.com that you edit the website’s page Casualties in Iraq - The Human Cost of Occupation

While that page includes a big Iraq Body Count’s banner and other IBC references, I could not find any mention of:

• the studies conducted by the world leaders in the field of epidemiology and published as peer-reviewed scientific papers in the world's leading medical journal, the Lancet;

• the recently published ORB poll suggesting a total of 1,220,580 deaths as a result of the conflict in Iraq since 2003 (ie as a result of violence rather than a natural death such as old age)

The British media watchdog Media Lens recently wrote:

IBC only collects records of violent civilian deaths reported by two different (mainly Western) media sources operating in Iraq. Epidemiologists report that this type of study typically captures around 5 per cent of deaths during high levels of violence, such as exists in Iraq. By contrast, the Lancet studies provide figures for all deaths - violent and non-violent, civilian and military, reported and unreported. [The Media Ignore Credible Poll Revealing 1.2 Million Violent Deaths In Iraq, SEPTEMBER 18, 2007 ]

In its latest Alert, Media Lens wrote:

The mainstream media are continuing to use figures provided by the website Iraq Body Count (IBC) to sell the public a number for total post-invasion deaths of Iraqis that is perhaps 5-10% of the true death toll. [MEDIA ALERT: IRAQ BODY COUNT: “A VERY MISLEADING EXERCISE”, October 3, 2007]

Gilbert Burnham, MD and Professor of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Les Roberts, Associate Professor at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health recently wrote:

Not wanting to think about civilian deaths in Iraq has become almost universal. The average American believed approximately 9,900 Iraqis had died as a result of the war according to a February 2007 AP poll. Unfortunately, recent evidence suggests that things in Iraq may be one-hundred times worse than Americans realize. (...) There are now two polls and three scientific surveys all suggesting the official figures and media-based estimates in Iraq have missed 70-95% of all deaths. The evidence suggests that the extent of under-reporting by the media is only increasing with time. [Ignorance of Iraqi death toll no longer an option, Les Roberts and Gilbert Burnham]

Patrick McElwee and Robert Naiman of Just Foreign Policy recently wrote:

The best estimate indicates that more than a million Iraqis have been killed as a result of the invasion and occupation. It is reasonable to suppose that if politicians and news media in the United States were forced to confront this reality, pressure for the end of the war would increase dramatically, and cavalier discussions of new military actions in Iran and Pakistan would be less likely. [Is the U.S. Responsible for a Million Iraqi Deaths?, Patrick McElwee and Robert Naiman]

In April 2006 I wrote Antiwar.com on the same issue but I didn’t received any reply.

I know other people wrote you on the same issue in these years and again in these weeks and days. Again, Antiwar.com has not replied to anybody.

Why is AntiWar.com - on its page Casualties in Iraq - The Human Cost of Occupation - hiding to its readers the Iraq Genocide?

Thank you for your time and please, I would like to hear from you this time.

Sincerely,
Gabriele Zamparini
London

Comments (1)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

a guest said:

	... we ask that you keep the discussion focused on the issues: no personal invective, no demonizing
	report abuse vote down vote up

October 08, 2007
Votes: +0

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment