Statistical Manipulation

Human Rights Watch is at it again. This time, they're condemning the US Army for not keeping count of the civilian casualties in Iraq. To the table, as proof of our outrageous behavior, they bring: "evidence of 94 civilians being killed by the US army in the capital and confirmed 20 cases between 1 May and 30 September."

Let's see. An end to major hostilities was announced in, what was it, now? Oh, yeah. May. So, of the 94 deaths being exposed here, 74 occurred while Baghdad was in a war zone and was a major goal for our forces. How many people were killed in Berlin as the Red Army advanced on the city? How many were killed in London during the Blitz? How many were killed in Sarajevo? 74 deaths in the capital city of a belligerent is not an unreasonable number. Civilian casualties are an unfortunate part of war. But, I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that Saddam would have found a way to off more than 74 Iraqis in that same time span.

And what of the other 20, since May 1?

The report said civilians were most likely to be killed during raids, at checkpoints, and after ambushes.

So, people are getting caught up in the fire created by the actions of the Iraqi insurgents who continue to attack us. Again, it's unfortunate, but when certain Iraqis are trying to conduct a guerilla war using the civilian population for cover, some deaths are again, unavoidable.

94 deaths is unfortunate. But in the grand scheme of things, taking into account the state of Baghdad for the given time frame, it is remarkable. I would have reasonably expected a higher number of casualties. It is a testament to the restraint of our soldiers under fire that the number is not higher.

Some people will never be happy with anything the US does. Maybe HRW would have more credibility if they had been deploring the number of Iraqis shot, shredded or shocked over the last 12 years. Maybe they would have more credibility if they had "exposed" the number of Iraqi civilians killed in Baghdad for propaganda purposes, by Saddam, after the commencement of hostilities.

Maybe if they came off more as concerned about human rights and not anti-Americanism. Maybe.