Casualties in Iraq

 

These questions are not meant to be gruesome. They deal with important national and world issues. Mathematical analysis can help

reveal trends, answer questions, as well as raise new questions. The data for this handout is taken from a variety of web sites:

www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/USfatalities.html publishes a graph showing accumulated U.S. military deaths.

 

Iraq Body Count at www.iraqbodycount.net/bodycount.htm

publishes data on Iraqi civilian deaths directly attributable to U.S. and allied military

action. Several of the sites include interesting essays on the difficulties involved in collecting such data. The sites were accessed for

this handout on Jan. 12, 2004, on Oct. 21, 2004, and again on Oct. 13, 2005. The graph below, including the title, is by Ed Stephan, a

sociologist at Western Washington University. Source: 

www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/USfatalities.html

 

 

Some suggestions for activism below graph. Note: WWII refers to US participation, 8 Dec 41 - 15 Aug 45.

 

 

 

number of Weapons of Mass Destruction discovered = NONE

 

Activism: suggestions sent to me about ways to spread the word:
  • A computer tech, whenever he uses a library or public computer, changes the background/desktop to this graph. Here's how: (1) Click Start, and then click Control Panel (2) Click Appearance and Themes (3) Under Pick a task, click Change the desktop background (4) To use a picture from a Web site, on the site, right-click the image, and then click Set as Desktop Background.
  • A college student tells me she pins the chart to her backpack.
  • A trucker says he just scrawls the daily total in the road scum on the rear of long-haul trucks.
  • Someone wrote that he pastes the chart inside both rear windows of his car so others can read it at the stoplight.
  • One writer puts this at the bottom of every email: "US military killed in Iraq = 1,330 - http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/USfatalities.html".
  • An OIF veteran paints the number on his truck with removable paint. He will be returning there next summer and writes "Keep it up!" Think about that.
  • Every Saturday demonstrators decorate their flag-drapped fake coffin with numerals, backed with velcro for easy change.
  • Taping 3" or 4" reflective mailbox numbers in a vehicle's rear window is highly visible, especially at night, and easy to update.
  • A math teacher uses the casualty count in algebra and pre-calculus classes. Search "Iraq" here and here.
  • A writer has a 12' sign on the front of her house, on a busy street, that reads "THE COST OF BUSH'S WAR IN IRAQ DEAD / DOLLARS"; she changes the numbers weekly.
  • Check out The Downing Street Memo and follow up on the action suggestions.


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