Here’s a point worth remembering:
The anti-war website Iraqbodycount.net estimates that between 11,487 and 13,458 Iraqis have been killed since the start of the war. Added to that are 1049 coalition deaths listed. That is a staggering 14,507 deaths since March 19 last year – a horrendous average of 28.5 people, real human beings, a day for the 509 days.
How could this ever be justified? Wouldn’t Iraq have been better off without this?
It is estimated that Saddam killed between 500,000 and 1 million of his own people in the 13 years since the Gulf War, not including the effects of the sanctions. The lower number averages out to be 105 a day.
Assuming Saddam had stayed in power, as the anti-war movement would have had, and assuming his regime did not fundamentally change, Saddam could have killed between 53,445 and 106,890 innocent people in the same 509 days.
In other words, the war probably cost between 38,938 and 92,383 fewer lives than the so-called peace would have cost.
Couldn’t agree more. It’s just that using the standard of Saddam Hussein is not exactly morally reassuring about our current conduct. (Hat tip: Morley.) For a harrowing tale of apparent U.S. abuse of prisoners, here’s a first hand account from the Guardian (and yes, that means keep your skepticism on high).
LEFT VERSUS LEFT: Great post by Kevin Drum on that awful old bore, Robert Scheer. Money quote:
[Scheer’s] a smart guy and a talented writer, but he’s too self-indulgent to modulate his tone based on his audience. He’s got valuable op-ed real estate at his disposal, and the purpose of valuable op-ed real estate is to persuade doubters, not drive them into the hands of your enemies by confirming their worst fears about your own side.
Until he figures that out, he needs to be confined to writing flyers for anti-globo rallies and polemics for CounterPunch. In the meantime, I don’t feel like losing any elections because of him.
Can’t Kinsley get rid of him?
The Dish 