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Email this citationCIAO DATE: 12/03
The Wages of War: Iraqi Combatant and Noncombatant Fatalities in the 2003 Conflict
Carl Conetta
October 2003
Abstract
The motivating premise of this study is that nations cannot wage war responsibly or intelligently without careful attention to its costs. The broader context in which "Operation Iraqi Freedom" was conducted -- that is, the campaign against terrorism -- makes attention to the repercussions of war even more urgent. Effective action against terrorism depends in fair part on an effort to win hearts and minds. Success in this effort turns significantly on issues of legitimacy and responsible action, especially with regard to the use of force. And the first principle of responsible action is to take account of its effects.
It may not be possible to predict or determine with absolute precision any of the many costs of conflict -- economic, human, or environmental. But this does not relieve us of the need and responsibility to develop a "working estimate given available evidence" -- which is what the present study aims to do with regard to fatalities. Fortunately for this analysis, the available evidence is very substantial, including journalistic coverage of civilian casualty incidents, surveys of hospitals, burial societies, and graveyards, and battlefield observations made by embedded reporters and by military personnel on both sides. Seldom in history has a conflict been so closely scrutinized on the ground while it occurred as was the 2003 Iraq war.
