BB:

Asserting the wrongness of war causes torture and suffering?

I submit that what causes the prosecution of war is the leaders who elect that decision. They are the only ones who have the power to make men pick up arms and bundle into tanks and trunks with intent to kill other men.

To blame such a decision on those who insist on a better way is meretricious in the extreme and disingenuous, at best.

The following are the latest figures for military deaths in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, in line with the most recent information from the Pentagon:

U.S.-LED COALITION FORCES:

United States 1,847

Britain 92

Other nations 94

IRAQIS:

MILITARY Between 4,895 and 6,370#

CIVILIANS Between 23,456 and 26,559*

# = Think-tank estimates for military under Saddam killed during the 2003 war. No reliable official figures have been issued since security forces were set up in late 2003.

* = From www.iraqbodycount.net, run by academics and peace activists, based on reports from at least two media sources.


A