TAQWACORE WEBZINE

Just to give a little statistics behind a more in-depth post I’m thinking about posting in a few days, I thought I’d give a little background into why it’s bullshit that everyone has forgotten about the war in Iraq.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the war in Afghanistan is not an important humanitarian crisis, and I’m definitely not saying it’s not violent. Indeed, since it has spilled over into Pakistan, it IS threatening to destabilize its neighbors. However, it is suspicious, though, that the focus of the entire American press is centered square on the country, meanwhile largely ignoring the larger war in Iraq. In fact, 251 times MORE so….

Here are some numbers:

At least 753,399 people have
been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq
since the U.S. and coalition attacks, based on lowest credible estimates.

Most recent update: September 11, 2009. This page is updated about once monthly.

About 251 times as many people have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq than in the ghastly attacks of September 11, 2001. More than 108 times as many people have been killed in these wars and occupations than in all terrorist attacks in the world from 1993-2004. The 2004 report showed terrorism at an all-time high, and after numerous experts suggested that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were fueling the increase, subsequent reports have remained classified.

Sources and methodology Notes about varying casualty counts cited elsewhere

# Casualties in Afghanistan:
Afghan troops killed [1] 11,152
Afghan troops seriously injured [2] 33,456
Afghan civilians killed [3] 7,589
Afghan civilians seriously injured [4] 13,660
U.S. troops killed [5] 746
U.S. troops seriously injured [6] 2,238
Other coalition troops killed [7] 551
Other coalition troops seriously injured [8] 1,653
Contractors killed [9] 75
Contractors seriously injured [10] 2,428
Journalists killed [11] 6
Journalists seriously injured [12] unknown
Total killed in Afghanistan: 20,119
Total injured in Afghanistan: 53,435

# Casualties in Iraq:
Iraqi troops killed [13] 30,000
Iraqi troops seriously injured [14] 90,000
Iraqi civilians killed [15] 697,523
Iraqi civilians seriously injured [16] 1,255,541
U.S. troops killed [17] 4,343
U.S. troops seriously injured [18] 31,156
Other coalition troops killed [19] 318
Other coalition troops seriously injured [20] 10,821
Contractors killed [21] 933
Contractors seriously injured [22] 10,569
Journalists killed [23] 163
Journalists seriously injured [24] unknown
Total killed in Iraq: 733,280
Total injured in Iraq: 1,398,087

Source: http://www.unknownnews.net/casualties.html

Maybe I just don’t get it… I’ve always been against these wars because I don’t like to see innocent people killed. And that’s exactly how they try to frame the conflicts when convenient, but then also conveniently ignore Iraq when it no longer fits the current adminstration’s agenda.

The fascination with the war in Afghanistan in the media really begs the question if it is simply a propaganda victory the US is searching for, or if “human rights” and “democracy” are truly the goals. The media keeps harping on the imminent danger of the war in Afghanistan and the conflict in Pakistan, but what’s going on in Iraq?

If that were the goal, then why don’t we talk more about refugees than the number of suicide-bombing victims? Because in addition to the above statistics, there are much less scientific counts of how many homeless refugees the Iraq war has created in neighboring countries throughout its course. So many, in fact, that suddenly upset demographic-shifts have created drastic housing shortages and inflation amongst other things, which have somewhat destabilized those countries as well.

Just because American troops stopped going on patrol and pulled out of the cities, doesn’t mean that the war isn’t happening anymore. Although they are no longer in danger, or putting themselves on the line, the average Iraqi is far from safe in “liberated” Iraq. Unless, of course, that implies liberating them from their lives….

But it’s not just about Iraq, because there are a few other conflicts that are much larger, more dire humanitarian crises that are being blocked out of the public’s conscience, like the Zaydi (Shia’) rebellion in Yemen, for example. But since there are no major American interests at stake, humanity suddenly become less important.

As for the possible explanations why this is happening, I’ll leave that for a post at a later date. But for now, I just wanted to make sure the Iraqis aren’t abandoned in your thoughts.