Web Site War

It is almost impossible to get an exact body count attributable to the war in Iraq. There had been conflict prior to the official start of the conflict, and then casualties linger. Every day, there is a story out of the region that talks about more casualties. A student writing on this subject must then account for the variances in reporting when examining websites. In comparing and contrasting web sites, one called Iraq Body Count,

(this provides a live count including a minimum and maximum estimate), will be compared with a Wikipedia site entitled Casualties of the Conflict in Iraq since 2003.

The Wikipedia site begins by explaining that the accuracy of information regarding casualties

is something that varies. Casualties, according to this site, include both dead and injured individuals. The site reports the 100,000 deaths of Iraqis that was widely reported in September of 2004. Interestingly, a tally of US soldiers who believed to have killed one or more civilians during 2003 numbers about 41,000. This latter number is of course not precise because it draws on a facade of numbers from interviewed soldiers. Both of these figures on this up to date web site are from 2004 and 2003 respectively. At the site, each report of figures notes the sources from which they were derived. One report for example, that examines 2004 statistics, is based on public health experts who report that about 100,000 Iraqi civilians had died since the invasion by U.S. troops began.

The other site examined, is called Iraq Body Count and it is something that comes from academia. Interestingly, the Wikipedia site is critical of that site, and does provide information regarding the style of those who run the operation. It explains that this western group reports Iraqi civilian deaths, which had been caused by the Iraqi uprising, and shows minimum and maximum counts but only includes estimates, which were reported by two sources in the press. At the Iraq Body Count site, on October 11, 2005 at 9:49 A.M. the numbers of civilians reported killed by military intervention in Iraq is between 26,457 and 29,795. This is far different from the figures reported at about 100,000 quite a while ago. Yet, interestingly, the Iraq Body Count site appears to be quite political. It features insensitive quotes from ex-General Tommy Franks and General Mark Kimmitt who are both highly respected persons in the military