By Oliver Poole
Last Updated: 2:52am GMT 10/11/2006


The Iraq government said yesterday that it estimated about 150,000 people had been killed since the March 2003 invasion, rather than 650,000 reported in a medical survey last month.
Ali al-Shemari, the Iraqi health minister, said the report by US and Iraqi epidemiologists that appeared in the Lancet was an "exaggerated number".
Citing the lower figure as more accurate, he said the vast majority had died in insurgent attacks or in the sectarian violence that has gripped the country since the destruction of the Golden Mosque in Samarra in February.
The Lancet estimate was far higher than figures produced by other bodies and was calculated by randomly sampling homes containing 12,800 individuals across Iraq and checking death certificates. Experts have questioned the methodology.
Mr Shemari, who was in Austria to meet pharmaceutical companies, said that medical supplies were limited while only 15,000 of the 80,000 hospital beds needed were available.
One reason for the poor supply of medical equipment is believed to be corruption. Yesterday the US official monitoring reconstruction said that government corruption was costing the country around $4 billion a year.

Good Article Tex..... I dunno if 150,000 deaths is very accurate, but I dunno about 650,000 either.... It raises an interesting point about corruption, this is a cross the Allies will have to decide on.... pressure the Iraqi government into stamping it out (reduce it to good low levels for region) or allow it to go rampant,and rampant it will go with half a chance.... Since Allied Money is going into the rebuilding, they should put the foot down with the Iraqi govt, cos locals will suffer even more and the investment will be lost..... If they can get 95% of what they buy into the hands of the locals who need it, then its a success story for supplies, anything less and its encouraging chaos and suffering...

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"Barrel High, Powder Dry!"

"Illic est haud effrego ex Veneratio"

Intresting stuff Tex forsure........but in all honesty how can we be 100% sure that the numbers are acurate......there has been so many estimations ranging from one point to off the scale....the people who make these estimations have hidden agenders......the person who made the 650,000 claim was proberbly a Democrat and the one who said its 150,000 is proberbly republican

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One day President Roosevelt told me that he was asking publicly for suggestions about what the war should be called. I said at once 'The Unnecessary War'.
Sir Winston Churchill, Second World War (1948)

JRJ. While that might be the case, Dont you think it sounds a little paranoid. Most democrats in this country want an timeline for leaving Iraq. It would be maddness to assume they sit around with their fingers crossed hopeing to hear about more bad news from Iraq.
I said in an ealier post that the 650K was mathmattically impossible. 150K is more likely, not 100% but honestly its reasonable.

40 to 15 deads a day i think i would more likely to believe the 650,000 number

The whole credibility on the numbers is gone in my opinion, after the country is stablized and Allies put the lid back on Pandoros box, and withdraw, the real number will come out... Any use of numbers before that happens is only political grandstanding.....

__________________
"Barrel High, Powder Dry!"

"Illic est haud effrego ex Veneratio"

It was tongue in cheak what i said............but you understand my point.....everything comming out of Iraq is politically motervated.....the people who are making these estimations are not neutral

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One day President Roosevelt told me that he was asking publicly for suggestions about what the war should be called. I said at once 'The Unnecessary War'.
Sir Winston Churchill, Second World War (1948)

All I know is that 2856...7...8...9 americans have died overthere. Hopefully I will make it before long.

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Death Before Dishonor

Make it where Iraq?

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One day President Roosevelt told me that he was asking publicly for suggestions about what the war should be called. I said at once 'The Unnecessary War'.
Sir Winston Churchill, Second World War (1948)

I trust you mean depoloyment in Iraq, and not your name on the casualty list??....

__________________
"Barrel High, Powder Dry!"

"Illic est haud effrego ex Veneratio"