Saddam killed an awful lot of people, largely during the years when he was seen as a friend to be supported by Washington, that's true enough.   But in more recent times he'd had to pull in his claws.

As I said, the estimate for the number of violent deaths in the years before the invasion is lower than the estimate for violent deaths in the years following it - that applies even if you leave out the deaths during the immediate period of the invasion and the pre-invasion softening-up bombing.

It may be possible to argue that this was and is a price worth paying for eliminating the Saddam regime - but it should be recognised that it is and contrinues to be a real "price". The claim that the death rate is down because of the invasion just does not stand up to scrutiny.