This is the calculation done after a poll realised by ORB, the British poll company in Iraq, and asking the following question to 1481 people aged 18+: “How many members of your household, if any, have died as a result of the conflict in Iraq since 2003 (ie as a result of violence rather than a natural death such as old age)? Please note that I mean those who were actually living under your roof.”
The answers:
None 78%, One 16%, Two 5%, Three 1%, Four or more 0.2%
If you use the last census figures (more than 4 million homes in Iraq), it allows to reach 1,220,580 deaths (more than a million, right).
Unfortunately, this is well in line with the figures published at regular intervals by The Lancet (medical journal) that presently evaluates the death toll to around 600,000 from medical data.
The original Deltoid article applies a few additional checks to ensure that this is not skewed and it stays in line with reality (you should always have that kind of caution with statistical data), but it is easy to understand why Irakis are not happy with the presence of troops from US, UK and allies. Since 2003, they are reliving the nightmare of the Iran-Irak war, but they are under occupation. Go wonder why they are not receptive to the arguments from the Bush administration…
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