Riverbend: The Lancet Study...

[Barrett808]

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

This has been the longest time I have been away from blogging. There were several reasons for my disappearance the major one being the fact that every time I felt the urge to write about Iraq, about the situation, I'd be filled with a certain hopelessness that can't be put into words and that I suspect other Iraqis feel also.

It's very difficult at this point to connect to the internet and try to read the articles written by so-called specialists and analysts and politicians. They write about and discuss Iraq as I might write about the Ivory Coast or Cambodia- with a detachment and lack of sentiment that- I suppose- is meant to be impartial. Hearing American politicians is even worse. They fall between idiots like Bush- constantly and totally in denial, and opportunists who want to use the war and ensuing chaos to promote themselves.

The latest horror is the study published in the Lancet Journal concluding that over 600,000 Iraqis have been killed since the war. Reading about it left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it sounded like a reasonable figure. It wasn't at all surprising. On the other hand, I so wanted it to be wrong. But... who to believe? Who to believe....? American politicians... or highly reputable scientists using a reliable scientific survey technique?

The responses were typical- war supporters said the number was nonsense because, of course, who would want to admit that an action they so heartily supported led to the deaths of 600,000 people (even if they were just crazy Iraqis…)? Admitting a number like that would be the equivalent of admitting they had endorsed, say, a tsunami, or an earthquake with a magnitude of 9 on the Richter scale, or the occupation of a developing country by a ruthless superpower… oh wait- that one actually happened. Is the number really that preposterous? Thousands of Iraqis are dying every month- that is undeniable. And yes, they are dying as a direct result of the war and occupation (very few of them are actually dying of bliss, as war-supporters and Puppets would have you believe).

For American politicians and military personnel, playing dumb and talking about numbers of bodies in morgues and official statistics, etc, seems to be the latest tactic. But as any Iraqi knows, not every death is being reported. As for getting reliable numbers from the Ministry of Health or any other official Iraqi institution, that's about as probable as getting a coherent, grammatically correct sentence from George Bush- especially after the ministry was banned from giving out correct mortality numbers. So far, the only Iraqis I know pretending this number is outrageous are either out-of-touch Iraqis abroad who supported the war, or Iraqis inside of the country who are directly benefiting from the occupation ($) and likely living in the Green Zone.

(more)

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_riverbendblog_archive.html#116120448528625171

[acmavm]

1. Oh my...

<snip>

And what about American military deaths? When will someone do a study on the actual number of those? If the Bush administration is lying so vehemently about the number of dead Iraqis, one can only imagine the extent of lying about dead Americans…

<snip>

This is a remarkable young woman who can write with such emotion and composure at the same time.

[cassiepriam]

6. Yes, I am certain those numbers have been cooked as well. nt

[Briar]

2. I can't believe no one has recommended this yet

and that it is already sinking to the bottom of the page. Too much truth for those who are guilty to face? Because we are guilty. As Billmon says:

...we knew, or should have known, that what Bush was planning was an illegal act of aggression, based on a warmongering campaign of deception and ginned-up hysteria. And we knew, or should have known, what our moral and legal obligations were:

Complicity in the commission of a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity as set forth in Principle VI is a crime under international law.
We were all complicit. I was complicit. Because I was afraid -- afraid to sacrifice my comfortable middle class lifestyle, afraid to lose my job and my house, afraid of the IRS, afraid to go to jail.

But not nearly as afraid, of course, as the thousands of Iraqis who have been tortured or murdered, or who, like Riverbend, are forced to live in bloody chaos, day after day. Which is why, reading her post today, I couldn't help but feel deeply, bitterly ashamed -- not just of my country, but of myself.

http://billmon.org/

Billmon takes apart the Lancet study deniers too.

[silverweb]

3. I'm glad she's back.

There was much concern about her during her absence.

K&R.

[Marrak]

4. Al'humdala...she's alive!

Let's pretend the 600,000+ number is all wrong and that the minimum is the correct number: nearly 400,000. Is that better? Prior to the war, the Bush administration kept claiming that Saddam killed 300,000 Iraqis over 24 years. After this latest report published in The Lancet, 300,000 is looking quite modest and tame. Congratulations Bush et al.

need one more recommend!

[oblivious]

5. I sent her an email last month asking if she was okay.

I guess thousands of other readers did too, so no reply. Scared me.

Time to let her know that I'm glad she's back.

[e-mail]

[Matilda]

7. Such a relief that she's back, and okay.

Even though the news isn't good.

I rely on her for the truth.

[Briar]

8. Riverbend writes

in conditions of absolute terror and despair, with people dying around her all the time and no defence against the myriad forms of death stalking her country. She's a hero. If she can find the courage and resolve to tell us how she feels, so eloquently, the least we can do is read it and think, just for a moment, of what we have done.

Further support for the Lancet study comes today from this Independent story, which has been posted here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x241289

Medics beg for help as Iraqis die needlessly
Half of all deaths preventable, say country's medics
Reconstruction seen as disaster
More than 2,000 doctors and nurses are killed
18,000 more leave the nation
Even the most basic treatments are lacking

[MonteSano]

9. This thread just makes me sad. I hate it that denial like this.......

.....can exist in America on a widespread scale. I chalk it up to human nature but I still hate it. There's no excuse for this kind of politically-motivated denial.

[Briar]

10. Perhaps not politically motivated

so much as nationalistically, since some Democrat supporters seem afflicted by it as well. Of course flying the flag is good politics...

[burrowowl]

11. So glad she is back!

I was getting worried.