email to Liberal Democrats MPs Edward Davey and Nick Clegg RE: Iraq war death toll

Dear Edward Davey MP,
Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary

CC Dear Nick Clegg MP,

Thank you for your recent comments on the Iraq war.

"Five years after the invasion of Iraq, the death and destruction wrought by this disastrous war ought to compel even the most diehard supporters of the original decision to revise their position. Gordon Brown and David Cameron should now apologise for voting for the Iraq war. Contrary to the ludicrous claims of victory made by the likes of David Miliband and George Bush, the war has made Iraq a more dangerous place at a horrific cost whether measured in terms of lives, money or our security. Labour and the Conservatives share the blame for this catastrophic foreign policy mistake."

“The war in Iraq has already cost thousands of lives and billions of pounds. This tragic revelation brings home the continued human and financial impact, both at home and abroad.”

Presumably, when you said “thousands of lives”, you were just thinking of US and UK military personnel.

The US media watch FAIR wrote a few weeks ago: "There is no more important question about the Iraq War than the question of how many Iraqis have died. It is impossible to truly evaluate the war or discuss where to go from here without knowing the human cost of the war, and that cost has overwhelmingly been borne by Iraqis."

Surely I would not call a war of aggression – illegal under the UN Charter – that might have cost the lives of over one million Iraqi citizens a “mistake”. Please, may I ask you if the Liberal Democrats intend to spend some time and energy to highlight the human cost of the Iraq war?

Thank you for your time

Sincerely,
Gabriele Zamparini
London

P.S. Please, I send here some useful links:

Iraq: the Human Cost

Updated Iraq Survey Affirms Earlier Mortality Estimates

ORB Update on Iraqi Casualty Data

Answers to Questions About Iraq Mortality Surveys

Counting Iraqi Casualties -- and a Media Controversy

What is the real death toll in Iraq?

Iraqi deaths survey 'was robust'