Lest we forget - what you didn't read in the papers

Peter Morris

Iraqi civilians are being killed at about twice the rate that Anzacs were killed in Gallipoli.

According to my calculations, the Anzac adventure lasted 239 days and killed about 8709 Australian soldiers, an average of approximately 36.4 per day. An average of 36 Iraqis were added each day to the Iraq Body Count (IBC) database in the year to March 2006 (see <http://www.iraqbodycount.net>).

The IBC counts only about 30-50% of the actual casualties — only those reported dead in at least two English language media articles — so this is the cautious, absolutely undeniable minimum figure. The actual daily average is probably between 70 and 100 Iraqi deaths. And Gallipoli lasted 239 days; Iraq has already lasted four times that.

The IBC documents:

• 6331 Iraqi deaths from May 1, 2003, to the first anniversary of the invasion on March 19, 2004;

• 11,312 Iraqi deaths from March 20, 2004, to March 19, 2005;

• 12,617 Iraqi deaths from March 20, 2005, to March 1, 2006.

In average violent deaths per day, this is:

• 20 per day in year one;

• 31 per day in year two; and

• 36 per day in year three.

From Green Left Weekly, May 3, 2006.

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From GLW issue 666