Bush mob, Iraqi puppets lying about civilian deaths

No wonder the Bushitters are claiming that sectarian violence is on
the decline in Iraq -- both Bush and the Iraqis are lying and covering
up deaths.


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A day after the United Nations criticized the Iraqi government for
withholding periodically-reported data on the number of civilian
deaths in the country, a top human rights group suggested the move was
linked to political calculations in the United States.

"Is it a coincidence when George W. Bush appears on Charlie Rose and
asserts as fact that sectarian violence was down in Baghdad?" Sarah
Leah Whitson, Director of the Middle East Program at Human Rights
Watch said to RAW STORY. "How is it that he's making that assertion,
and for the first time, after the United Nations has published ten
reports on the situation, this is the first that doesn't have the
data?"

She added, "Is it just a coincidence that when we've established
benchmarks for the Iraqi government to show they are in control of the
security situation, they withhold the only evidence that might hold
the answer?"

Yesterday, the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq released its latest
update on violence in the country. The Government of Iraq withheld key
data on the number of recorded deaths, and the manner of those deaths.

"Unlike previous reports, the new UNAMI Quarterly Human Rights report
does not contain official statistics of violent deaths regularly
gathered by the Ministry of Health and the Medico-Legal Institute in
Baghdad," according to a statement delivered by Michèle Montas,
Spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. "This
is because the Iraqi Government decided not to make such data
available to UNAMI."

UN Human Rights Officer Ivana Vucco essentially accused the Iraqi
government of attempting to cover up the true scale of the violence.

"Unofficially in follow-up meetings we were told that the government
was concerned that people would misconstrue the figures to portray a
grim situation," Vucco said in Baghdad.

The Secretary-General criticized the move, and said that UNAMI planned
to encourage the Iraqi government to release the data.

"This is a matter of regret because UNAMI reports have been regarded
as a credible source of information regarding developments in the
human rights situation in Iraq," Ban's spokeswoman said. "The Mission
will continue to speak with the Iraqi authorities and urge them to
provide the necessary information."

Human Rights Watch's Whitson said that the move by the Iraqi
government to hold up the statistics was similar to American policy on
gathering wartime civilian death data.

"They're just taking a page from the US on this," she argued. "In the
1991 Gulf War, the US kept records of civilian casualties, but in this
war, they've refused to do it. Parties to the conflict have a legal
duty to keep this information because it goes directly to evidence on
the impact of war. How can you pretend to be protecting civilians if
you're not keeping records?

RAW STORY contacted US Central Command for comment in Baghdad
Wednesday night but did not receive a reply. However, the Los Angeles
Times today reported that the US Embassy supported the decision of the
Iraqi government to withhold data on civilian deaths.

"'There were sometimes concerns with political motivations' in the
release of statistics, one U.S. Embassy official said, referring to
the sectarian and ethnic polarization in Maliki's government,"
according to Tina Susman. "The prime minister's aim is to have 'one
voice' from the government delivering numbers that have been
consolidated and verified, to prevent such things as double-counting,
the official said."

Human Rights Watch's Whitson responded that the Iraqi government had
not itself made this case to the United Nations when it said it would
withhold the data.

"It may be the same inadequate, shitty data that they had before, but
they didn't respond to UNAMI, they didn't say they need to fix the
data, they didn't give any reason for withholding it," she said.

The Human Rights Watch researcher also worried that the Iraqi
government's next move could be to further cover up the scale of
violence in Iraq.

"Unlike the US, Iraq has not refused to look at the facts, but now
they're keeping it secret, and I wouldn't be surprised if their next
step is to stop keeping records at all," Whitson warned.

In related news, the McClatchy-Tribune Newspapers reported yesterday
that the Bush administration is no longer counting deaths from car
bombings in its civilian fatality estimates.

"Car bombs and other explosive devices have killed thousands of Iraqis
in the past three years, but the administration doesn't include them
in the casualty counts it has been citing as evidence that the surge
of additional U.S. forces is beginning to defuse tensions between
Shiite and Sunni Muslims," wrote the news service's Nancy Youssef.
"President Bush explained why in a television interview on Tuesday.
'If the standard of success is no car bombings or suicide bombings, we
have just handed those who commit suicide bombings a huge victory,' he
told TV interviewer Charlie Rose."

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Cover_up_Iraq_government_quashes_data_0426.html

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