…
Take a look at this fascinating exchange between the American Expat and Paul Reynolds of the BBC. I think Scott nails him with the logic of saying that either you report a claim of 100,000 civilian deaths (or more) in Iraq, and examine the methodology critically for the reader’s sake, or you don’t report it at all. Reynolds’ response?
‘It was simply a figure. I reported it. . What’s the problem?’
Yeah, no big deal.
Update 02/04: thanks to commenters, a challenge for Paul Reynolds (who added his comment too)- how about quoting this site’s analysis, which highlights the vital fact that 80% of the IBC civilian death count is male?
BL,
Criticising the blog in itself is extremely churlish. If life was better for a significant part of the population under dictatorship than it is now then that’s a fact and it’s not in some way morally repugnant to say so. Saddam’s Iraq from what I’ve heard from colleagues was unpleasant but not Pol Pot’s Cambodia – if you kept your head down and weren’t very unlucky you were broadly ok – so it’s not unreasonably to assume that those who now find themselves in danger daily might be a bit p*ssed off. In my view the blog is no more unrepresentative than the unremittingly jaunty ‘Iraq the Model’, for example.
However, what is ludicrous is that the BBC has plucked this one from many and started to shower it with award nominations. Why not the more upbeat ones?
Cockney
You say “life in Saddam’s Iraq was unpleasant but not …”
For a sick remark that takes the biscuit. Estimates of the executions under his regime go as high as 600,000. People in perpetual fear of disappearances in the night. Plus all those people effectively being starved of food and medicines because Saddam was hijacking the Oil for Food Programme. Then stir in the deaths he caused in the wars with Iran and Kuwait.
And you call that merely “unpleasant”.
Sick, sick, sick.
Cockney ” If life was better for a significant part of the population under dictatorship than it is now then that’s a fact”
But it would appear not to be a fact.
BBC’s own polling at the end of 2005 showed that 74% of respondents considered removing Saddam to be the correct decision.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/world_iraq_war_poll_results/html/4.stm
PS that’s a poll of Iraqis (should you not follow the link)
Will,
Sure.
That leaves 26% who don’t think removing Saddam was a step in the right direction – a pretty significant part of the population. The question was also looking to the future so you can presumably round that up by a few more who aren’t better off now but expect to be subsequently.
DD
Obviously on a macro-scale it was one of the most horrific regimes in recent history, but people don’t write blogs about their lives on a macro-scale. I was quoting the experiences of colleagues that lived and worked there in an attempt to demonstrate why some Iraqis not wholly deserving of hysterical abuse and smears might write anti-US websites. But obviously you know more about daily Iraqi life from your armchair and no doubt politically diverse selection of reading material, so I’ll let you get on with it.
Life was undoubtedly much worse for many Germans after Hitler was removed too.
Cockney
Maybe the 26% who feel worse were mostly Sunnis ?
I’d prefer to pay attention to general views of Iraqis expressed in formal polls than to your views based on a few contacts among Iraqis – either your contacts or mine.
I hold to my comment that to suggest that “life under Saddam was unpleasant but” is a gross understatement. The guy was a mass murderer. Period. No buts.
I can’t help noticing male heads of state, ect. seem to enjoy kissing Condi. She certainly is the prettiest secretary of state we’ve ever had – and smart as well. 😀
BTW that’s *Dr.* Rice not ‘Miss’ Rice! Or Madam Secretary if you prefer.
I think all of this slobbering over each other amongst foreign state officials is very undignified.
I remember Colin Powell hugging some Japanese female official on a state visit to Japan a few years ago. I thought it was bizarre. Do Japanese people generally go around hugging strangers or work colleagues all the time? I think not.
Agree that Condi is good-looking, especially when she dons one of her formal concert pianist gowns.
Bryan says.. “I was getting a bit annoyed with Ian because, although he was doing an honest job at least of answering people’s queries, before vanishing he appeared to stubbornly refuse to respond to a point I put to him a number of times:”
Sorry Bryan – I’m actually still around reading, but don’t have time to comment. I’ve been working on two big product launches that have soaked up my time (completely un-BBC-related). Hopefully in the not-too-distant future I’ll have some more time.
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