War is always a crime

Why is this not in bold-face on the front-page of every U.S. newspaper? American and Iraqi researchers, led by doctors from Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, write in the prestigious British medical journal, The Lancet, that more than 100,000 Iraqis have died since the US-led invasion of the country than would have died otherwise. These new figures are much higher than any previous estimates, which generally said that between 10,000, and 37,000 Iraqis died directly or indirectly as a result of the March 2003 invasion. The Times of London reports Friday that the survey attributes most of the extra deaths, many of whom were women and children, to "airstrikes by coalition forces." The international team that did this study by visiting homes of people in Iraq say that their estimate is conservative. British and U.S. officials are not responding seriously to the numbers but are conceding that they were done by a respected and reputable group. People need to demand answers. People need to understand the nature of war and the suffering it causes.

It must be evident to anyone that the war in Iraq has been out of proportion with any risk posed to anyone inside or outside of Iraq. I fail to understand how anyone can look at what has gone on in Iraq and not believe it was a mistake. Yes, Saddam is gone. (Those of us involved in the human rights struggle had been protesting his rule since the late 1980's. No one paid attention until he invaded Kuwaiti oil fields.) The world benefits whenever a despot is deposed.

We, however, defied the United Nations best judgment, using faulty intelligence on weapons of mass destruction which provided the rationale for this war and launched a violent assault upon Iraq without exhausting every other avenue available to us.

The results have been a nightmare-come-true. Over 1,100 American deaths. Over 8,000 Americans wounded. Now, we must face the fact, that we may have caused, directly and indirectly, the deaths of 100,000 deaths in Iraq. Even Saddam didn't kill at that pace.

My bottom line: If Bush loses on Tuesday, it will be because enough U.S. citizens have seen the truth in what Winston Churchill once said:

“Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.”

If Bush wins, it is because too many of us have wrapped ourselves in the flag, and turned a blind eye to the folly of war.