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October 13, 2006

A Million Casualties and Counting

In his latest editorial, Can we call it Genocide Now?, Paul Craig Roberts takes the Bush Administration to task for blowing off a new study that has found the War has cost the lives of 655,000 Iraqi civilians. The study uses the same techniques that are widely relied upon to determine the number of dead in situations of upheaval all across the world, whether war, disease or genocide. The scientific community considers the techniques to be very reliable, and normally politicians do, too, but the President is rejecting the trustworthiness of the techniques now that the results are politically damaging.

Roberts writes:

What percentage of these 655,000 deaths were insurgents or "terrorists"? Probably 1% and no more than 2%. Bush's "war on terror" is, in fact, a war on Iraqi civilians.

And that's just the Iraqis.

The New York Times (October 11) reports that Department of Veterans Affairs documents show that about one in five US soldiers who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan have suffered at least partial disability. … Paul Sullivan, director of programs for Veterans for America, says that the current rate of injuries will produce 400,000 American veterans suffering 30% to 100% disability.

Roberts asks, "What kind of government would destroy the lives through death or disability of over one million people for no valid reason?" His answer is about as depressing as anything I've read lately, because it's true. They don't care.

After the number of times I've seen the President choke up in tearful speeches when he speaks of the losses of 9/11 and the war, I could, like most Americans, accept that he believes in what he is doing and that he must know of dangers that I don't. Except there is too much evidence of calculated lying and disrespect for the people, and too much financial gain by his associates. It's an uncomfortable fact that someone can look very sincere and be simply putting on an act. Funny, we see actors do this all the time, but we're so reluctant to believe it is possible for politicians to do it. We'd better wise up to it, though, before the next million fall.

Posted by Becky at October 13, 2006 06:38 AM