Iraq: It's All in the Numbers

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by Ken Follett

Hey, Buzz!

There's been a lot of talk (or is that pablum) from the Bushniks and their supporters of late about how the Iraqis are "so much better off" now that Saddam is gone. They add that the abuse is nothing compared to what his years of evil rule did to the Iraqi people. But let's take a look at the numbers.

Saddam ruled Iraq for 23 years. In that time it's been reported that somewhere between 300,000 and 500,000 Iraqis perished under his brutal regime. Breaking that down annually, that means somewhere between 13,000 and 22,000 Iraqis lost their lives every year during Saddam's ugly rule. Horrible, I'm sure by anyone's standards.

So just how much better off are the Iraqi people since we bombed and rolled into their homeland 14 months ago? Recent reports state that over 5,500 Iraqis have died just in Bagdad and it's surrounding area alone in that time. Other humanitarian organization reports and independent estimates have pitted the number at 10,000 to 15,000 Iraqi dead nationwide since March 2003.

Hmmmmm . . . . 13,000 to 22,000 Iraqi deaths per year under Saddam compared to 10,000 to 15,000 Iraqi dead from our little war and occupation in just over a year. Plus we have the added benefit of a torture and abuse scandal at the very same prison facility where Saddam conducted some of his worst attrocities. And let's not forget the centuries of depleted uranium exposure we have left for future generations of that beleagured nation.

Help me out here, but I'm having trouble seeing just how much better off the Iraqis are since we started our little escapade. Maybe some of those Iraqi "insurgents" we hear so much about are having the same problem. Maybe the rest of the World Community is having that problem, too, causing them to be hesitant about helping us out of the little quagmire we've created . . .

Sometimes numbers speak louder than words.

Keep up the good work!

Ken Follett
Rockford, IL

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION