We had to kill them to save them

We have heard that 10 to 30 thousand Iraqi civilians have been killed since the start of the U.S. invasion. Now a survey of deaths in Iraqi households estimates that as many as 100,000 more people may have died throughout the country in the 18 months since the U.S.-led invasion than would be expected based on the death rate before the war.

Designed and conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University and the Al-Mustansiriya University in Baghdad, the study is being published Thursday on the Web site of The Lancet medical journal.


The survey indicated violence accounted for most of the extra deaths seen since the invasion, and airstrikes from coalition forces caused most of the violent deaths, the researchers wrote in the British-based journal.


"Most individuals reportedly killed by coalition forces were women and children," they said.

Well, at least Saddam didn't kill them.