War in Iraq: Civilian Death Toll

I feel called to write an article on this subject as there has been little discussion on Iraqi civilian casualties in either the websphere or the U.S. mass media. While the U.S. media has regularly updated the count of coalition troop deaths (particularly as regards U.S. troops), there has been significantly less information about or from wounded soldiers. There have been few interviews with soldiers that have returned home from Iraq -- at least that I've seen on TV and no major book releases to date written by a U.S. soldier.

U.S. media outlets generally report the daily toll from major attacks and often include the civilian casualty count in individual articles. Yet, aggregate numbers are not widely included in articles on the Iraqi war and occupation. Officially, the U.S.-led coalition has declined to track Iraqi civilian deaths but is tracking the number of coalition dead and wounded.

I cannot claim an exhaustive search for information on this topic. Sources for this article include CNN (chosen because it is a major U.S.-based news site that makes its archives available free to the public without user login), BBC News Online, Al-Jazeera (English version), Human Rights Watch and IraqBodyCount.net.

Multiple permutations of related keywords were entered in a search for a total count of Iraqi citizens killed with only modest success. The most fruitful searches used the keyword phrases "iraqi civilian deaths" (5 articles found) and "iraq death toll" (1 article found). The latter article, "Iraq death toll rising", published April 12, 2004 and quoting U.S. Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt was unavailable to the public due to a 404 File Not Found error at the time of this web post.

The best and most recent article was published June 4, 2004 regarding a United Nations report on the status of human rights in Iraq. The article describes an interpretation of the reason offered by coalition authorities as to why they are not tracking Iraqi civilian casualties: because Iraqi authorities are keeping count. The article cites a count of almost 1000 coalition troops and 200 coalition civilians killed since April 2003. The article quotes the U.N. report as saying that

"Some have asserted that there have been some 10,000 deaths."

Al-Jazeera asserts on its homepage today that its top most emailed article is "Iraqi group claims over 37,000 civilian toll". As the citizen uprising in Iraq becomes better organized, their ability to fill the information gap left by the interim Iraqi government and coalition force authorities will become stronger. A case in point is this assertion by an individual group operating inside Iraq, the People's Kifah (or Struggle against Hegemony Movement) of deaths sustained between March and October 2003. The al-Jazeera article does go on to cite other sources for an attempt at balanced reporting.

One of those sources is IraqBodyCount.net, a site run primarily by U.S. and British academics. The site was first launched as soon as the invasion began in March 2003 and I checked it regularly at the beginning of the war. It has since opened its database to the public. IraqBodyCount.net's count is considered conservative since they insist on a record for each death listed. The site includes all deaths that the coalition forces are bound to prevent under the Geneva Convention. The current count at IraqBodyCount.net stands today at between 11,429 and 13,398. The U.N. report was published 2 months ago and these numbers would appear to agree with their general estimates given that time has passed between the report's release and IraqBodyCount.net's updated count, thus explaining an increase in the death toll.

On the BBC News site, I was able to find only one article with an aggregated count of Iraqi civilian casualties that details the heavy death toll sustained in April 2004: "Iraq death toll reaches new high" published April 14, 2004. The article offers charts on U.S. military dead and wounded from 2003 to 2004 that tracks the peaks of fatal and non-fatal injuries by month. The data which is provided by the U.S. military clearly shows that since Feb 2004, the on-the-ground situation for U.S. troops has worsened considerably. This article also cites a figure for a bloody two week count of 880 Iraqi civilian deaths which was compiled from US military official statements and Iraqi police and hospitals.

Marine Lt Col Brennan Byrne has told AP that most of the dead are "military-age men".

A more recent BBC article dated June 23, 2004 takes a wider view of the Iraq military situation: "Analysis: Iraq's military landscape". It forecasts trouble ahead for under-staffed coalition forces and details the homegrown forces that are gathering that may turn against them including the Badr Brigade, a 10,000-member force that acts as an armed extension of the Shia political party, Sciri.

Finally, I searched Human Rights Watch in vain for a count of Iraqi civilian casualties. Their site is recommended, however, for its comprehensive counter-coverage of human rights violations around the world, including Iraq. Their December 2003 report, Off Target: The Conduct of the War and Civilian Casualties in Iraq, takes U.S. forces to task for using war tactics that increased the number of Iraqi civilian casualties unnecessarily sustained during the war. The tactics included use of cluster munitions and antipersonnel landmines.

It is my hope through this brief summary that greater coverage regarding the impact of the U.S.-led invasion on ordinary Iraqi people will become available to a wider audience. May we all pray for peace and a cessation of violence in Iraq and throughout the world.

Comments

[Jason G. Williscroft]

Here's another number to track: the number of Iraqi civilian lives SAVED by the war. As of this evening, that number is in the neighborhood of 47,000. Don't believe me? See for yourself!

[Tim Sutton]

Very interesting article by Pink Thunder. Definately something to keep an eye on. We are supposedly liberating these people, what are they supposed to think. It also seems that Mr. Williscroft has been watching a bit too much FOX News. Do me a favor and say hi to everyone on the right for me, as soon as you're done spinning.