A team of American and Iraqi epidemiologists estimates that 655,000 more people have died in Iraq since coalition forces arrived in March 2003 than would have died if the invasion had not occurred.
It is more than 20 times the estimate of 30,000 civilian deaths that President Bush gave in a speech in December. It is more than 10 times the estimate of roughly 50,000 civilian deaths made by the British-based Iraq Body Count research group.
A Defense Department spokesman did not comment directly on the estimate.
"The Department of Defense always regrets the loss of any innocent life in Iraq or anywhere else," said Lt. Col. Mark Ballesteros. "The coalition takes enormous precautions to prevent civilian deaths and injuries."
Feel better now?
Related: ThinkProgress has a rebuttal to Rep. Steve King (R-IA) who made the absurd claim that living in Iraq is less dangerous than living in Washington DC. The post titled "REALITY CHECK: Iraq Is 22 Times More Violent Than Washington DC" includes a nifty chart from the FBI.
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