The Guardian June 23, 2004


Open letter to PM

This is an OPEN LETTER being sent to you concerning "excess 
mortality" and infant mortality in Iraq.

As a citizen of Australia I appreciate your problems over the 
last few years of not receiving accurate and timely information 
from your subordinates in the Australian public service e.g. over 
the non-occurrence of "children overboard"; the absence of 
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; and, most recently, the 
systemic torture of Iraqi prisoners of the Coalition.

In order to avoid such problems, I am sending the following 
information on horrendous mortality in Iraq to you directly (with 
copies to other MPs, media and fellow citizens).

[The] horrendous Iraq "excess mortality" (= actual deaths MINUS 
deaths expected with the same demographics and a peaceful 
society) is 5.2 million since 1950 and 1.5 million since 1991
(http://www.control.com.au).

This type of scientific analysis is quite revealing: thus "excess 
mortality" since the ostensibly "bloodless" Fiji coup of 1987 has 
been about 4500; "excess mortality" since 1967 in the Palestinian 
Occupied Territories has been about 340,000; and "excess 
mortality" in Afghanistan since 1950 has been 16.2 million.

The horrendous Iraq "excess mortality" estimates are consonant 
with UNICEF-derived figures for under-five infant mortality, 
namely 3.3 million since 1950 and 1.2 million since 1991. 
According to UNICEF, in 2001 the under-five infant mortality was 
109,000 in Iraq (population 24 million) and 277,000 in 
Afghanistan (population 22 million) — as compared with about 
1,000 in Australia (population 20 million). Estimated current 
infant mortality in war-ravaged Iraq is about 100,000 per year 
(300 per day).

In these difficult times it is vital for people of all kinds who 
are committed to peace, goodwill and humanity to honestly address 
the most important global issues. The Iraq holocaust is NOT being 
reported by global media; the victims are overwhelmingly 
CHILDREN.

Dr Gideon Polya Macleod, Victoria
Contact Dr Gideon Polya on(03) 9459 3649[+61 3 9459 3649].

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