RANGER AGAINST WAR: You Have Our Condolences <

Saturday, September 06, 2008

You Have Our Condolences

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Getting accurate body counts from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is such a tricky thing.

Two weeks ago, a U.S. airstrike was first reported to have killed 80-90 Afghan civilians (
Afghan Leader Assails Airstrike that he Says Killed 95); the number was later downgraded by the Pentagon to maybe five, contradicting the initial United Nations and Afghan reports.

In a crude effort to get a ballpark figure on the number of killed civilians in Iraq, Ranger looked at the Commander's Emergency Response Program
(CERP), a military initiative which has so far spent at least $2.8 billion in U.S. funds over the past five years. In its regulating field manual -- Money as a Weapon System -- a portion of the funds are to be used to compensate families who have lost members, or amputees. $500 is paid for the loss of a leg or an arm; "up to" $2,500 for a death (Money As a Weapon.)

The
New York Times reported, "So far, nearly $50 million in condolence payments has gone to the families of killed and injured Iraqis." Now, even using the full $2,500, dividing that into the $50 Million disbursed thus far gives a figure of 20,000 dead Iraqi civilians. (This seems a reasonable figure, allowing for the amputee payments, as well as the deaths which did not earn the full $2,500 payout.)

Since the U.S. won't publish the figures of Iraqis killed by U.S. forces, then let us just use the 20,000 figure. If we paid for them, they must be dead. And since this is Saturday, we must be in Baghdad.

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6 Comments:

Blogger The Minstrel Boy said...

ahmed chalabi attacked by suicide bomber

more civilian casualties to not count.

Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 11:35:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

MB,

Well, we don't have to pay for those, since we didn't do it. Our only losses with that one [Chalabi] are what he has stolen honestly from us so far.

Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 5:01:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Aloha, Ya'll in Virginny now? Why do I think of 'aiding and abetting the enemy' when I see Obama on O'Really spouting this nonsense:
"I think that the surge has succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated," Obama told O'Reilly in an interview taped Thursday in York, PA. "It's succeeded beyond our wildest dreams."

That boggles the mind on so many levels... ;-)

Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 3:32:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

CT,

This is Obama playing catchup ball, to line up as being tough on terrorism.

This guy amazes me, too, when he says he'll draw down in Iraq and build it up in Afghanistan. Does anybody in national politics actually have a clue. On the bright side: think how much safer Hawaii will be from terrorism when that buildup in Afghanistan comes down.

Why does neither candidate discuss the source of funding for these wars, or the benefits to accrue to the U.S. public. I see the Surge like the drug Cialis--it'll keep you hard for 4-hrs. in extreme cases, but you revert to a limp dick later. Our condolences go to the Americans, who are subjected to this deadly folly.

Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 7:33:00 AM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ranger, I’ve been reading your blog for a while but haven’t commented much. I just wanted to take a minute and thank you for your work, it’s excellent.
I come from Ohio (Cleveland), served in the Army, and now live in Florida, so we have some things in common, along with sharing a growing disillusionment with our government I think.
Keep up the good work.

Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 7:31:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger Lisa said...

Kevin D, Nice to hear a kind and encouraging word from a fellow cleveland denizen.
I'm glad to have you aboard. jim

Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 8:21:00 PM GMT-5  

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