Activity 17, The Media in the Gulf War
Many people believe that statistics or estimates employed in newspaper articles or news broadcasts are true. Many are accurate, but other figures presented as "facts" are most likely inaccurate or false. Many figures are generated to support a particular point of view or perspective on an issue or topic. Perhaps the most egregious inaccurate statistical reporting in the Gulf War related to the number of casualties suffered by Iraq during or because of the war. Examine the following statistics or estimates presented by different sources during or after the war.
1. Ted Koppel, the host of ABC's Nightline: "I'm not sure the public's interest is served by seeing what seems to have been such a painless war, when 50,000 to 100,000 may have died on the other side."
2. Bob Woodward, in his book The Commanders, concluded that Iraq lost 100,000 killed, including 15,000 civilians.
3. On October 29, 1991, on the PBS's program Frontline, Andrew Cockburn claimed that "anywhere between 75,000 and 175,000 children could die due to the public health conditions that we caused."
4. In May 1991, a Harvard-related health worker reported that the war's aftermath could cause the deaths of 170,000 children.
5. The Iraqi under secretary for health, Dr. Shawki Murgus reported that between August 1990 and May 1991, the total deaths of children under five years of age had been less than 20,000, not significantly higher than prewar levels.
6. Air Force Col. John A. Warden reported that only about 2,000 civilians died in the bombing.
7. Brent Sadler, who covered the war from Baghdad for British television, estimated the civilian death toll at less than a thousand.
8. Michael and Edwin Emery, authors of The Press and America, estimated that 100,000 Iraqis military died along with an additional 15,000 civilians.
9. According to Lawrence Freedman and Efraim Karsh, authors of The Gulf Conflict 1990-1991,the only information that Iraq released was that about 20,000 Iraqis had died during the air war, including about 1,000 civilian. At most another 15,000 died during the land war, bringing the total to 35,000.
10. According to J. A. S. Grenville in A History of the World in the Twentieth Century, "No accurate figures for Iraqi casualties killed has been established; they were probably between 30,000 and 90,000."
Student Questions:
What were the sources of these estimates or statistics?
Why would these sources give different figures for Iraqi fatalities?
Why would some sources want a lower figure while other sources might want a higher figure?
Obviously, Iraq has a good conception of its losses during the war. Why wouldn't Iraq want to release the record of its casualties?
Why wouldn't the United States military want to release its estimate of Iraq's losses?
Of the above estimates, which do you think is more accurate? Why?
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