Iraqbodycount.net offers a distorted view of the war on terror

J.J. Jackson* | January 4, 2006

“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.” — John Stuart Mill

War truly is an ugly thing. In war, death does not discriminate, touching both combatants and non-combatants. Innocent civilians are the true victims of war, caught in the middle as warring armies clash.

www.iraqbodycount.net attempts to count the number of civilian deaths associated with the war in Iraq. The maintainers of this site claim the deaths they count are, ?resulting directly from military action by the USA and its allies in 2003.? And they use the image of a U.S. Air Force B-2 bomber releasing its deadly cargo as a backdrop for the site?s ongoing counter of death.

The imagery is misleading at best, implying that the majority of civilian Iraqi deaths are caused, not only by the US military, but by indiscriminate bombing of the Iraqi people. They are making a statement I?m hard pressed to find any real evidence for on this site.

From the site:

?We agree that deaths from any deliberate source are an equal outrage, but in this project we want to only record those deaths to which we can unambiguously hold our own leaders to account. In short, we record all civilians deaths attributed to our military intervention in Iraq.?

The above, is an interesting statement, but rings hollow when the information on the site is reviewed. Take a close look at the deaths as they are listed on the site.

Some examples of the civilian deaths listed and how they were killed include:
- 9 Iraqi Army troops executed by enemy forces with bullets to the head
- 1 female bystander killed during a suicide bomber attack on a bus filled with Iraqi National Guard members
- 14 worshippers leaving mosque killed by an enemy car bomb attack
- 2 human rights leaders kidnapped and then shot in head and chest by the enemy
- 1 interpreter working for US military beheaded by enemy forces

There?s plenty more to read through, but as you can see, they list deaths that were not caused by US military action, but by attacks launched by insurgents and terrorists. How are these deaths ?attributed to our military intervention?? Are we being blamed for the actions of our enemies? Are these insurgents not also the enemies of the Iraqi people as they are killing them on a regular basis? And where does the image of the stealth bomber come into play here?

Perhaps an image of an insurgent would be more applicable in some cases.

I think the database on this site is missing a very important column. It?s missing a source column, IE who did the suicide bombing, the executing, etc. If that column existed, wouldn?t the blame for the deaths fall on the contents of that column? Our military actions in Iraq have certainly led to the death of innocent bystanders, as is the case in any war. But to blame us for all civilian deaths in Iraq despite whoever did the actual killing is ridiculous.

The site also states,

?For each civilian killed by “terrorists” on and since 9-11, the USA and its allies have brought about almost four non-combatant, civilian deaths in return.

One might ask how it is possible to claim that the deaths of some 4,500 civilians at the hands of paramilitaries demonstrates “utter contempt for innocent life” when the blood of some 14,000 innocents staining our own hands is considered noble and necessary.?

What the site fails to acknowledge is that the enemy, in this case, willfully attacked innocent life with the intent of killing them as a means to inflict terror on the people of the United States. Although terrible mistakes do happen, our armed forces do not make a practice of purposefully targeting non-combatants. Couple that with the numbers of deaths supposedly caused by us being padded with deaths caused by our enemy, and you get a distorted view of both the War on Terror and the efforts and moral fiber of the men and women that wear the uniform of the United States Military. And why do they put quotes around the word terrorists when applied to the terrorists that attacked us on 9-11? Very telling, isn’t it?

I initiated a dilog with the maintainers of the
www.iraqbodycount.net website inviting them here to respond to my point of view. I invite you the reader to view our dialog and perhaps offer your own thoughts within the comments here: www.myspinzone.net

Disinformation : 22 Media Myths That Undermine the War on Terror

(Book)

Authors:Richard Miniter
Manufacturer:Regnery Publishing
Released:24 October, 2005

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (And the Crusades)

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Authors:Robert Spencer
Manufacturer:Regnery Publishing
Released:01 August, 2005

Contributor's website: http://www.libertyreborn.com

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