Study Suggests Iraq War Death Toll Higher Than Commonly Thought
Over at The American Conservative Daniel Larison has highlighted a study that suggests that the death toll from the War in Iraq may be higher than is commonly believed, with 461,000 Iraqi deaths attributed to the conflict.
The Washington Post's Matt Fisher explains the research behind the study, which was conducted by the Iraqi Ministry of Health as well as four North American universities.
The research is more rigorous than previous assessments of Iraq war deaths; it relies on randomized household surveys, meaning they asked regular Iraqis to recount if, when and how members of their household died during the war. It's also different because it looks at indirect deaths that, the authors argue, can be attributed to the war. We do forget that the invasion, occupation and subsequent sectarian violence led basic services to collapse. One of the authors pointed out to NBC News that neighborhood-to-neighborhood fighting often prevented Iraqis from seeking medical treatment.
Graph from the study below:
Read Reason.com's forum on the 10th anniversary of the War in Iraq here.