The newest update to a study published in the British medical journal, the Lancet, claims that 655,000 Iraqis have been killed since the U.S. invaded Iraq. This absurd claim has been hailed around the world as evidence of the evil American empire's murderous reign in the Mid East. But it turns out that the entire study is not only filled with lies, the creators of the study even tried to hide the fact that George Soros funded the thing.
MSM sources like the AP and the Washington Post, among many others, highlighted the report lending it credence when it came out last month but few of those news outlets revealed the source of the study's funding. While most did reveal that the study was "controversial," few went into just how far off from the truth the details of this study are.
The real facts, however, are beginning to come out.
Michael Fumento has penned a great expose on how many lies fill the famed Lancet Study on Iraqi war deaths and the UK's Timesonline also revealed the connection with Soros.
The Times tells of the Soros involvement.
Soros, 77, provided almost half the £50,000 cost of the research, which appeared in The Lancet, the medical journal. Its claim was 10 times higher than consensus estimates of the number of war dead.
“The authors should have disclosed the [Soros] donation and for many people that would have been a disqualifying factor in terms of publishing the research,” said Michael Spagat, economics professor at Royal Holloway, University of London.
And Michael Fumento has a great run down on all the spurious mathematics promulgated by the study. When comparing the numbers offered by the Iraq Family Health Survey study to that of the study in the Lancet, some startling differences are seen.
So for that last period, while the IFHS daily figure was 2.3 times higher than that of Iraq Body Count, the Lancet 2006 daily figure was a stunning 7.3 times higher than that of the IFHS and 17 times higher than that of Iraq Body Count.
But, here is something that Fumento dug up that is even more startling. The man responsible for compiling some of the Lancet study is the very same propagandist employed by Sadam Hussein to claim that U.N. was killing innocent Iraqi children when sanctions were imposed after the 1990 liberation of Kuwait.
While it's widely known that the Lancet authors refused to release their data to be evaluated by outsiders, there has been little talk about Riyadh Lafta.
Lafta was the man in charge of the actual collection of numbers, while another Lancet author was in Iraq but holed up in a hotel. As National Journal notes, Lafta was also a high-ranking official in Saddam Hussein's ministry of health and there authored some of the agit-prop papers about the vast number of small children dying from sanctions the U.N. imposed after the 1990 invasion of Kuwait... So Lafta doesn't exactly fit the definition of a trustworthy researcher except in the sense of trusting him to come to the "proper" conclusions.
Fumento also reveals the connections of the Lancet's editor to anti-war organizations as well as his past usage of the Lancet for activism as opposed to serious scientific studies.
But the editor of the Lancet, physician Richard Horton, has unapologetically used the journal for advocacy on other issues, including a notorious 1998 paper that created an international panic over the safety of the childhood vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella [the MMR] – linking it to autism and bowel disease.
And...
Horton spoke at a rally in 2006 sponsored by Stop the War Coalition, a British group set up on September 21, 2001, which is to say its purpose was to oppose punishing and defeating the perpetrators of the 9/11 attack. At the rally, Horton shouted about the "mountain of violence and torture" in Iraq – and no, he wasn't talking about Saddam. "This axis of Anglo-American imperialism extends its influence through war and conflict, gathering power and wealth as it goes, so millions of people are left to die in poverty and disease," he angrily added. Watch the histrionics on YouTube. This is not your father's medical journal editor.
Fumento’s piece is a must read on this issue.
So, not only is this study funded by George Soros in an attempt to undermine U.S. policies, the editor of the magazine is also an anti-war activist who is willing to ignore the obvious problems with the study -- such as the fact that a Sadam Hussein propagandist was relied on to research the stats for it.
Whole ballyhooed as proof of America's crimes, the truth of the matter is that this study is filled with lies, funded by anti-Americans, and written by propagandists.
No wonder the MSM loved it so.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Just the numbers, please
February 9, 2008 - 17:16 ET by ThisnThatThis is just another in a long chain of "facts" presented by math- and truth-challenged Dims:
665,000 Iraqi war deaths
46,600,000 uninsured Americans -- all seeking insurance
33,600,000 cold, hungry, starving poor Americans, including 9,000,000 children
0 babies killed by abortion.
Yep, it's a political party you can trust; just read the MSM for the latest updates. BTW, all of this is caused by evil Republicans, with most laid directly at the feet of President Bush.
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If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
and how many again
February 9, 2008 - 17:48 ET by Cape Conservativeof illegal immigrants that we "know" are here but can't be found???
the Agenda the Agenda the Agenda
NOTHING but the Agenda!!
Thanks, Warner, for another great job uncovering more of "the Agenda"
Lancet. 507 killed each and every day?
February 9, 2008 - 17:59 ET by Gary Hall"Where are all the bodies hidden?"
Back in late 1999, following the "silenced" revelations in Kosovo, that the bodies were not to be found; the bodies being the subject of the hyped sales material (to sell the US unilateral war effort) up by the Clinton administration of some 200,000 people being killed in a genocide, the LA Times suggested that perhaps we should look in old wells. Apparently, there were rumors of bodies being dumped in wells. The LA Times was only trying to be helpful to the Clinton legacy, naturally enough.
The NY Times, in mid 1999, was running almost a story every day talking about mass graves, that in the end were not to be found. Bottom line for all of this? Doing their damn best to make the case that the Clinton admin. was doing the right thing.
Back in April of 2003, Eason Jordan, executive at CNN, was telling us that all of the horrid stories about Saddam's Iraq that the media kept all bottled up inside of them for years could now be freely told. Right - still waiting.
But this time, in Iraq - where are the bodies? The bodies that these kooks want to use to define the Bush legacy.
Where was a single news account of just one of these incidents?
The Lancet report (fiction) was in Oct., 2006, which was 3 years and 7 months into the Iraq war - approximately 1290 days. It's rather simple math, which makes for an average of 507 Iraqi civilians dying each and every single day from the conflict.
The reporting in war has been: "if it bleeds, it leads." To the best of my knowledge, not a single day of this carnage was ever reported?
Maybe it's the US bombing of innocent civilians? Will someone present one single story of a US strike killing hundreds of Iraqi civilians - and not just on one day, rather, day after day after day.
Search me - I remember a number of horrific suicide bombings by the actual terrorists, where 50, 100, 150, even 200+ one or two times, or so civilians (including women, children and old men) had their lives shredded in an instant. And we all remember the front page stories where a US action or bombing took out the lives of 5-10 terrorists with 5-10 civilians unfortunately getting killed in the cross fire or the blast. This is tough stuff, but the numbers, you can usually count on one or two hands.
It sure would be helpful here, if someone in the media would pull out the 1290 daily stories which documented this insane conspiracy theory.
MSM's Un-truth squads
February 9, 2008 - 22:44 ET by ThisnThatIt's not surprising the average American doesn't do what you just did, GH. But it's a giant show of bias that prevents the MSM from doing this. They're capable of doing the same math and showing themselves how their arguments don't hold water. But, the great MSM conspiracy suppresses this. They correctly assume that everyone will simply focus on the big number and buy into their propoganda. It's working against the great unwashed -- but not at NB and other thinking forums.
Nice job laying it out.
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If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
No surprises here.
February 9, 2008 - 18:02 ET by bigtimerNo surprises here.
Ya want a Soros/McCain "surprise"??
February 9, 2008 - 18:05 ET by sarcasmoWell, here it is...Enjoy.
JMR
If this is winning, I think I'd rather lose...
Hey arc...Thanks for the
February 9, 2008 - 18:15 ET by bigtimerHey sarc...
Thanks for the link and info.
It does not in any way shape or form surprise me about McCain and his ties, no matter how they are linked...I think more will be coming out about him and his finances as time marches on...in fact I am quite sure of it.
Cripes!
February 9, 2008 - 19:03 ET by drillanwrIsn't there anybody's pants George Soros doesn't have his hand in?
When you men get home and face an anti-war protestor, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend because she knows she’s dating a pussy… ~ Attributed to General Tommy Franks
Lafta was a candidate for personal Gain..
February 9, 2008 - 18:20 ET by JayTeeSo Lafta, the former Saddam Govt. Employee, was vested in convincing everyone of the 600,000 + numbers. Besides the $$'s that Soros probably gave him.
A lot of Iraqi's left town and went to Syria to avoid the Violence, but considering them all "Dead", is not very good investigative Reporting.
So, Mr. Warner T., When will the WaPO and AP define the truth on Global Warming and it's Excesses, and be considered "Debunked" ? How long did this 600,000 LIE last ?
Oops, I think there is a Special on this weekend, some kind of Global warming non-reality show. The propaganda continues un-abated.
Do I now sue George Soros???????
February 9, 2008 - 18:46 ET by Lame CherryThis really now has me reamed!!!!!
Here I believe 655,000 Iraqi's are ground temperature and invest in 655,000 worry beads...........worry beads if you were a little boy and had your good friends the Saudi's send you an information packet on their nation........gave you a couple of coins, their cool green flag and these roseary type brown beads on a necklace called worry beads..........
So I buy my 655,000 worry beads at 5 cents a piece to import them to Iraq to sell to all those mourning dead families at $1.50 which will make me a millionaire.
So Lancet and George Soros are now responsible for my economic demise as I formed a business venture based on 655,000 dead Iraqi's...........now they ain't dead and no Iraqi is going to be buying worry beads if they are alive.........they will be celebrating instead in finding they are now alive.
It would be nice if some right wing attorney started filing lawsuits based upon the above and make Soros liable. The Iraqi's have huge lawsuits due to HUMAN SUFFERING clauses in Soros was telling them their families were dead when in fact they were in Jordan drinking strong coffee.
George Soros needs to be sued in Civil Court.........and the attorney who does it can please give me a 10% finders fee..........can throw a big CPAC type party for Newsbusters wonks.....serve beef, beer and convince Ted Nugent to lasso some liberals we can hire.
Great fun........thanks to George Soros.
*HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS
Missing Donuts?
February 9, 2008 - 18:49 ET by acumenLancet has obviously confused the number of Iraqi civilian deaths with the number of donuts Rosie O'Donnel has eaten since the CONTINUATION of the Iraq war in 2003?
Isn't it an odd coincidence that both of these questionable reports/figures have emerged immediately proceeding the 2004 and 2006 elections?
Traitorous mention should also be given Les Roberts who was behind both reports --http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?Guid=SF15FF-E275-BE12-F51AD30D1CCB
acu, babe -
February 9, 2008 - 19:01 ET by drillanwrThe link's not working ... for me at least.
Maggie
When you men get home and face an anti-war protestor, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend because she knows she’s dating a pussy… ~ Attributed to General Tommy Franks
WTH - YOU THE MAN, man!
February 9, 2008 - 18:58 ET by drillanwrYet, another keeper for my Iraq War Data Files.
Oh, BTW, somebody sew Rosie O`Donnell's head to the carpet (no pun intended) and make her hear/read this.
Footnote (fair warning):
When you men get home and face an anti-war protestor, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend because she knows she’s dating a pussy… ~ Attributed to General Tommy Franks
So as the real data comes out
February 10, 2008 - 12:11 ET by c5thenIt will be 100,000 iraqi civilians killed as the result of terrorist/insurgent actions and 400,000 to 500,000 iraqi military killed as a result of coalition actions against the terrorists/insurgents.
The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic. Let's get it back! Alan Keyes '08.