Is it worth it? I wonder how many of them were children.


8,000 slain during Iraq’s first year of democracy

By THOMAS WAGNER
The Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq — One year ago today, when Iraq formed its first freely elected government, Americans and Iraqis hoped it would lead to a drop in violence. But Iraqis have continued to die in the thousands, and this year the trend is up.

Figures compiled by The Associated Press during the past 12 months show more than 8,000 people have been killed, and there are increasing cases of civilians kidnapped, killed and dumped in public places.

The numbers offer a counterpoint of caution for Washington’s hopes that Iraq’s second freely elected government, now being formed, will help curb violence.

American officials tout the selection of a new prime minister April 22 as the start of a unity government that could speed the departure of U.S. troops.

But optimistic forecasts that accompanied other milestones — the 2004 restoration of Iraqi sovereignty after U.S. occupation and the formation of the first elected government 10 months later — turned sour.

Twice last year, on Jan. 30 and Dec. 15, millions of Iraqis risked their lives to vote in free elections for new parliaments, then watched as their chosen legislators squabble for months about forming a government.

When the first freely elected government after Saddam Hussein’s downfall took office last April, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari boasted that Iraqis who had “challenged tyranny” at the polls “will help this government to succeed and will not be intimidated.”

A year later, al-Jaafari has been denied a second term, blamed for failing to deliver.

Iraq faces tough choices and problems, said Bob Ayers of the Chatham House think tank in London.

“The freedom to vote is unique. The Iraqi people clearly wanted to do that,” he said. “But imposing democracy and changing the government structure doesn’t change the country’s historical, cultural and religious problems.”

The protracted legislative squabbling before the new prime minister-designate, Nouri al-Maliki, was picked might have allowed the militias to break free of the limited control that political parties have over them and to step up sectarian killings, said Toby Dodge, an Iraq specialist at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London.

In Iraq’s widespread violence, it often is difficult to tell whether insurgents, militias or common criminals are responsible for killings. U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad recently said Iraq’s militias are killing more people than insurgents are.

When al-Jaafari took over, U.S. officials and many Iraqis hoped security would improve, but the insurgency soon resumed. Sectarian tensions also began to rise and, with the bombing of an important Shiite shrine two months ago, burst into outright fighting.

AP’s figures show that at least 8,107 Iraqis have been killed and 10,519 wounded, most of them civilians, in the year beginning April 28, 2005. The top killer was bombs (3,895), followed by gunfire (1,960) and the discovery of dumped bodies (1,684).

In March alone, at least 1,038 Iraqis died in war-related violence, according to AP figures — the highest monthly total in the past 12 months.

These numbers include civilians, government officials, and police and security forces, and are considered only a minimum based on AP reporting. The actual number likely is higher because many killings go unreported or uncounted.

AP’s tally is compiled from hospital, police and military officials cited in news stories, as well as accounts from reporters and photographers at the scenes. Insurgent deaths are not a part of the Iraqi count.

Also not included in this count are the nearly 1,000 Shiite pilgrims killed in August 2005 during a bridge stampede caused by someone shouting there was a suicide bomber in their midst.

The AP study reaches back one year. Other studies suggest the violence has increased annually since the U.S. invasion. Iraq Body Count, a British anti-war group, reported more than 12,600 Iraqi civilians killed in the year ending March 1, up 10 percent from the previous year and about double the total for the first year after the invasion.

8,000 is alot but it's also peanuts compared to the hundreds of thousands that were murdered under Saddam Hussein's reign of terror. Too bad they aren't counting the insurgent's deaths since they are the ones to blame for most of the fighting and deaths.

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Grandpa and me sitting outside his plantation home.

I say no. We have enough of our own problems.

Damn right.