World

Over One Half Million Deaths in Iraq, Researcher Finds

by kate | April 5, 2007 at 03:35 pm

1379 views | 0 Recommendations | 7 comments

This number is so shocking. Dr. Riyadh Lafta's talk is presented by Simon Fraser University and will take place on Friday, April 20th at the Wosk Centre for Dialogue at 7pm.

An Iraqi medical school professor will talk about the death count in Iraq after the 2003 invasion: causes, types of victims, categories of violence, and other health indicators.

Dr. Riyadh Lafta will be in North America to collaborate with University of Washington colleagues on a research project to document elevated levels of pediatric cancers in Basra, Iraq. The project was conceived as part of a sister university relationship between Basra Univ and the UW. The research project is supported by a grant from the Puget Sound Partners, a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation initiative.

Dr. Riyadh Lafta, who teaches medicine at Baghdad’s Al-Mustansiriya University College of Medicine, co-authored the October 2006 Lancet article that estimated more than 650,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the the American-led invasion in 2003.

Lafta will speak at a public gathering at Simon Fraser University's Wosk Centre (580 W Hastings in downtown Vancouver BC) on Friday, April 20, at 7 pm.

His talk will be video cast to the UW's Kane Hall at the same time with the opportunity for interactive audience participation.

Dr. Lafta will be a guest of Simon Fraser University, in part because the U.S. State Department would not issue him a visa to come to the United States.

The public is welcome at either location.

For more information:
Tim Takaro, MD, MPH, Simon Fraser Faculty of Health Sciences
ttakaro@sfu.ca
604-268-7186

Amy Hagopian, PhD, UW School of Public Health
hagopian@u.washington.edu
206-616-4989, 685-3676 or Ian Maki 206-543-6020

--
Tim K
Tim K. Takaro, MD, MPH, MS.
Associate Professor
Faculty of Health Sciences
#2812 West Mall Centre
Simon Fraser University
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6
Phone: 604-268-7186
Fax: 604-291-5927
ttakaro@sfu.ca

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joellerose

at 05:03 on April 6th, 2007

This is pure propaganda. Even a liberal source such as Wikipedia reports, "The Iraq Body Count (IBC) project's figure of 59,720 to 65,573 civilian deaths reported in English-language media (including Arabic media translated into English) up to 25 March 2007 includes civilian deaths due to coalition and insurgent military action, sectarian violence and increased criminal violence."

kate

at 14:06 on April 6th, 2007

Well, you can't argue with his credentials. Numbers aren't left or right wing, they're just numbers. One thing I notice as well is that he seems to be talking about this from a health science and policy perspective, so perhaps his count also includes people who have died from other things (disease etc) that would fall outside the fray of a count based on "military action, sectarian violence and increased criminal violence". Because the entire country has been destabilized and medical care, water, food services - the things that keep people alive and healthy - have broken down as a result of this invasion. I don't know that this is the argument, as the talk happens on April 20th, but this would be my guess based on this information.

kate

at 14:08 on April 6th, 2007

BTW I think it's absurd to argue that Wikipedia is a "liberal source".

joellerose

at 14:14 on April 6th, 2007

Kate, what planet are you on?

bloggi

at 14:24 on April 6th, 2007

I am getting a bit short on my patience with this necon-speak
sharpening the tone in shoutouts unnecessarily. I have seen it as part
of subversive political tactics in other BBS systems elsewhere before. It is not
new, it is not original, and it is entirely dispensable. Admittedly,
shoutouts are for speaking out your opinion, but overabusing this
feature (to try to invent at least half a real GWBushism) is a serious
misunderestimation on your part. It will take you nowhere near
convincing anyone of your viewpoints.

egoigwe

at 15:02 on April 6th, 2007

There is simply no way Wikipedia can come up with figures that approximate what is on ground in Iraq. It does not have the facilities to come about the right figures or the United States authority to conduct and publish independent figures not certified by the Homeland Department (Ha!). All it can do is seek out information from sources available to it-which would be home-grown referrals. I strongly believe that after 5 years of the kind of onslaught we have witnessed in Iraq, the figures, if much more higher, wouldn't surprise me. My educated guess is that they are much more higher than published.

kate

at 15:48 on April 19th, 2007

This event has been cancelled because he was denied a visa in Jordan. Here is the email I just received from the SFU administration.

The following note is being sent on behalf of the Faculty of Health Sciences, because of the high level of interest in this event:
Iraqi professor's talk on Iraqi casualties cancelled; co-author to speak in his place

A public talk by Dr. Riyadh Lafta of Baghdad's Al-Mustansiriya University College that was scheduled for Friday, April 20 at 7 p.m. at SFU's Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue has been cancelled. Alternative arrangements have been made for a talk to take place on the same day and at the same time by Dr. Les Roberts, co-author with Dr. Lafta of a Lancet article on Iraqi casualties.

Dr. Roberts will speak at the University of Washington, with a live feed to SFU's Wosk Centre. A question period will follow. The talk will take place April 20 at 7 p.m. The event in Vancouver will be moderated by Tim Takaro, who is studying the rise in childhood cancer in Iraq with Dr. Lafta and researchers from the University of Washington (U of W).

Dr. Lafta was unable to make the visit after being denied a transit visa while in Jordan, en route to Vancouver through London. He had been scheduled to spend a week meeting with members of his research team while at SFU.

The U of W, which launched the study with the University of Basra in Iraq, had originally planned to host the week-long meeting of the research collaborators. The venue was changed to SFU when Dr. Lafta was denied an entry visa to the U.S.

Admission to the talk is free, and reservations are not required.

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fiona Burrows
Administrative Assistant
Public Affairs & Media Relations
Simon Fraser University