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Military - in brief (19)

01 August 2006

UK/USA/Iraq: 655,000 dead after illegal US-UK invasion of Iraq. A new statistical analysis published in one of the world's most prestigious medical journals, The Lancet, estimates that the human toll of the 2003 invasion of Iraq may have topped 655,000 deaths as the country descends further into civil war. Most of the fatalities came about as a direct result of violence the study says, estimating that the total represents 2.5 per cent of the Iraqi population. It attributes 200,000 violent deaths directly to British and US forces. The death toll means that more than 500 people have been killed every day. Two years ago a study by a team from John Hopkins University estimated that at least 100,000 Iraqis had been killed as a consequence of the invasion, but the current study implies that the cost of "democratisation" is much higher. The findings contradict claims by President Bush and Tony Blair that the situation in Iraq has improved since the invasion. However, it should be recalled that while neither the United States nor the UK feels that there is any need to count those they kill, they are in a position to dismiss the findings of both of the recent studies. Gilbert Burnham, Riyadh Lafta, Shannon Doocy & Les Roberts “Mortality after the 2003 invasion of Iraq: a cross-sectional cluster sample survey”. See http://www.thelancet.com/webfiles/images/journals/lancet/s0140673606694919.pdf; The Lancet, 11.10.06,

Europe/US: Guantanamo boss to become Nato's Supreme Commander. Colonel Bantz J. Craddock, who was head of the US Southern Command from November 2004 to December 2006, has been appointed Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SECEUR) for NATO. He replaces US Marine General James L. Jones who had served in post since the beginning of 2003. As head of the US Southern Command in Miami, Craddock was responsible for running the interrogation centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In 2005 Craddock personally overruled the disciplining of a prison commander who abused a prisoner at the interrogation centre. The Europe Command covers 93 countries in central and eastern Europe, Africa and parts of the Middle East. Times 8.12.06