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A Very Pithy Pithlord

There is no such thing as the perfect study, and all empirical work is subject to reasonable criticism. So far, the right-wing blogosphere has yet to exceed the level of the Holocaust deniers. ~Pithlord on the Lancet epidemiological study on “excess deaths” in Iraq Also, via Pithlord, Majikthise summarises the views of critics of the study […]

There is no such thing as the perfect study, and all empirical work is subject to reasonable criticism. So far, the right-wing blogosphere has yet to exceed the level of the Holocaust deniers. ~Pithlord on the Lancet epidemiological study on “excess deaths” in Iraq

Also, via Pithlord, Majikthise summarises the views of critics of the study with a good sense of satire, such as:

8. Sure the study’s methodology is standard for public health resesarch. But don’t forget that public health is a leftwing plot. (Medpundit)

The sad thing is that this summary is quite close to what the person said.  This is a standard refrain from interventionists and their friends: ignore so-and-so’s extensive expertise and knowledge on Middle Eastern subject X, because he is an Arabist (so what if he’s studied the region all his life–maybe he’s studied it a little too long, know what I mean?); dismiss the criticism from that foreign policy scholar, because he is a “realist” (oh, hated realists!) who allegedly thinks “stability” is the answer (as George Will noted acidly a couple months back, the “problem of stabilty” in the Middle East has been solved); belittle the warnings of this well-informed commentator, because he also happens to be critical of Israel, which somehow makes him unfit to breathe, much less speak on policy questions, etc.  But then watch them fly into a fury when you suggest that their guys have ulterior motives or are motivated by something other than the high and noble desire to protect this country! 

Of course, it may be that the study is flawed.  It may be exaggerating the numbers of Iraqis who have died since the invasion who otherwise would not have.  If the earlier number of 100,000 two years ago was reasonably accurate, it does seem surprising that five times as many people have died since then, but then the last two years have been persistently and increasingly more violent than the first year.  Given how much analysis among war supporters seems to be .5% fact and 99.5% wishful thinking, I am inclined to think there may be some merit in the study’s findings, given that the methodology being used is apparently a standard and accepted one.

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