[UPDATED] e-mail to Foreign Policy In Focus RE: Iraq Body Count's counter

Dear John Feffer, co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus
Dear Emira Woods, co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus
Dear Emily Schwartz Greco, media director of Foreign Policy In Focus

I have noticed that on your website, on the page “IRAQ IN FOCUS”, you display the Iraq Body Count’s counter

Shouldn’t be more appropriate to display instead:

* the studies conducted by the world leaders in the field of epidemiology and published as peer-reviewed scientific papers in the world's leading medical journal, the Lancet; [link PDF]

* the recently published ORB poll suggesting a total of 1,220,580 deaths as a result of the conflict in Iraq since 2003 (ie as a result of violence rather than a natural death such as old age)

The British media watchdog Media Lens recently wrote:

IBC only collects records of violent civilian deaths reported by two different (mainly Western) media sources operating in Iraq. Epidemiologists report that this type of study typically captures around 5 per cent of deaths during high levels of violence, such as exists in Iraq. By contrast, the Lancet studies provide figures for all deaths - violent and non-violent, civilian and military, reported and unreported. [The Media Ignore Credible Poll Revealing 1.2 Million Violent Deaths In Iraq, SEPTEMBER 18, 2007 ]

And:

The mainstream media are continuing to use figures provided by the website Iraq Body Count (IBC) to sell the public a number for total post-invasion deaths of Iraqis that is perhaps 5-10% of the true death toll. [MEDIA ALERT: IRAQ BODY COUNT: “A VERY MISLEADING EXERCISE”, October 3, 2007]

Gilbert Burnham, MD and Professor of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Les Roberts, Associate Professor at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health recently wrote:

Not wanting to think about civilian deaths in Iraq has become almost universal. The average American believed approximately 9,900 Iraqis had died as a result of the war according to a February 2007 AP poll. Unfortunately, recent evidence suggests that things in Iraq may be one-hundred times worse than Americans realize. (...) There are now two polls and three scientific surveys all suggesting the official figures and media-based estimates in Iraq have missed 70-95% of all deaths. The evidence suggests that the extent of under-reporting by the media is only increasing with time. [Ignorance of Iraqi death toll no longer an option, Les Roberts and Gilbert Burnham]

Patrick McElwee and Robert Naiman of Just Foreign Policy recently wrote:

The best estimate indicates that more than a million Iraqis have been killed as a result of the invasion and occupation. It is reasonable to suppose that if politicians and news media in the United States were forced to confront this reality, pressure for the end of the war would increase dramatically, and cavalier discussions of new military actions in Iran and Pakistan would be less likely. [Is the U.S. Responsible for a Million Iraqi Deaths?, Patrick McElwee and Robert Naiman]

If I may give an unsolicited advice to your webmaster, a very easy and quick way to update your page “IRAQ IN FOCUS” would be to replace the Iraq Body Count’s counter with the Just Foreign Policy’s counter you may find here

Please, let me know if you need any further information.

Thank you for your time

Kind regards,
Gabriele Zamparini
London

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REPLY FROM John Feffer, co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus

Dear Gabriele Zamparini:

I came across your open letter to FPIF on the web (http://uruknet.info/?p=m37113&s1=h1). Perhaps you sent the letter to an address that I don't use any more. In any case, I didn't receive it earlier.

The information in the letter is very useful. We're always looking for ways to improve our coverage of the Iraq War. So when our staff person who focuses on Iraq work is back from vacation, we will certainly evaluate whether to replace the Iraq Body Count with a different estimate of civilian casualties.

Thanks again for head's up.

all the best,
John Feffer

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MY REPLY TO John Feffer, co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus

Thanks John,

I sent that e-mail to this same address but I’m sorry you didn’t receive it before I published it on my blog. We shall thank Uruknet for providing such an helpful service.

I’m very glad I could be of some help.

Best wishes,
Gabriele Zamparini

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Related article: Stephen Zunes and “the original U.S. goal of establishing a pro-American secular free market-oriented democratic government” in Iraq