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New
Delhi, 15 December 2004
November
was the deadliest month in Iraq and up to Sunday, 12
Dec 04, at least 1,289 US military personnel had
died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March
2003. The British military reported 74 deaths;
Italy–19; Poland–13; Spain–11; Ukraine–nine;
Bulgaria–seven; Slovakia– three; Estonia,
Thailand and the Netherlands–two each; and
Denmark, El Salvador, Hungary and Latvia–one each.
Since 01 May 03, when President Bush declared that
major combat operations in Iraq had ended, 1,151 US
military members have died of which at least 898
deaths resulted from hostile action. This proves
that it was only a battle that was won on 01 May 03
but the war continues.
The
above fact is reflected in President Bush’s
acknowledgement on 06 Dec 04 that American military
forces ’can never guarantee 100 per cent security'
for Iraq's elections on Jan 30. Iraqi President
Ghazi al-Yawer’s commented on 13 Dec 04 that the
US-led coalition was wrong to dismantle the Iraqi
security forces leading to long-term instability in
his country which could give birth to an “Iraqi
Hitler.” Daily bombings and kidnappings plagued
Iraq since last year’s US-led invasion toppled
Saddam Hussein and the relentless Sunni-led
insurgency has crippled reconstruction and
development projects in the country.
US
military casualties (wounded and killed) stand at a
monthly average of 747 since the so-called
"transition" to Iraqi rule on June 28,
2004. This contrasts with a monthly average of 482
US military casualties during the invasion (20
Mar–01 May 03) and a monthly average of 415 during
the occupation (03 May 03–28 June 04).
As
for non-combatants, till Sep 04, there had been an
estimated 154 civilian contractors, missionaries and
civilian worker deaths since 01 May 04. Of these, 52
had been identified as Americans. Forty-four
international media workers died in Iraq as on 22
Sep 04, including 33 since President Bush declared
the end of combat operations. Eight of the dead
worked for US companies.
While
there was no official count of Iraqi casualties,
some independent estimates had reported their deaths
and injuries. As on 22 Sep 2004, between 12,800 and
14,843 Iraqi civilians had been killed due to the US
invasion and ensuing occupation, while an estimated
40,000 Iraqis had been injured. During "major
combat" operations, between 4,895 and 6,370
Iraqi soldiers and insurgents were killed. Of late
insurgents had resorted to killing a larger number
of Iraqi civilians and armed personnel ––
possibly to create fear and uncertainty before the
forthcoming election in Jan 05.
The
number of US military deaths in Afghanistan was 132.
Once again, though there was no official record of
the Afghan death toll, a study by an American
academic estimated that at least 3,800 civilians
died in Afghanistan and independent estimates
suggested that military deaths could be close to
10,000.
The
total figure of 30,000 deaths was more than the
number of people killed in terrorist acts in the
last 35 years –– studies showed that 22,000
persons had been killed in terrorist incidents since
1968. The cost of reconstruction and related aid was
estimated at $23 billion in Iraq and $30 billion in
Afghanistan, which seems much smaller than the $100
billion loss caused by the WTC attacks. But while
the WTC losses translated to 0.91% of US GDP, it
amounted to 59% of Iraq's GDP and 150% of
Afghanistan's GDP in 2003.
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