Iraq Body Count site disputes high estimate of Iraqi dead

It's no surprise that serious criticisms of the Lancet's "650,000 Iraqis dead" estimate are coming to light. What is surprising is the source. iraqbodycount.org, itself an anti-war site that uses the body count to make a point, has taken the following implications from the Lancet study:

"On average, a thousand Iraqis have been violently killed every single day in the first half of 2006, with less than a tenth of them being noticed by any public surveillance mechanisms;

"Some 800,000 or more Iraqis suffered blast wounds and other serious conflict-related injuries in the past two years, but less than a tenth of them received any kind of hospital treatment;

"Over 7% of the entire adult male population of Iraq has already been killed in violence, with no less than 10% in the worst affected areas covering most of central Iraq;

"Half a million death certificates were received by families which were never officially recorded as having been issued;

"The Coalition has killed far more Iraqis in the last year than in earlier years containing the initial massive 'Shock and Awe' invasion and the major assaults on Falluja."

The site's disbelief is understandable with these kinds of numbers. Iraq Body Count itself puts the death toll at less than 50,000.

Robert VerBruggen blogs at http://robertsrationale.blogspot.com.