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November/December 2003

The First Casualty Index:

Crucial truths that are unfortunately missing in action, absent without leave, or prisoners of war

by Mas’ood Cajee

The first casualty when war comes is truth.
- - Hiram Johnson

In wartime, truth is so precious that she should be attended by a bodyguard of lies.
-- Winston Churchill, British Colonial Secretary in 1921 when Iraq and Palestine were created

Number of Iraqi civilians killed:

Number of Iraqi civilians missing:

Number of Iraqi civilians injured:

Number of Iraqi civilians burned:

Number of Iraqi civilians maimed:

Number of Iraqi civilians incinerated:

Number of Iraqi civilians disfigured:

Number of Iraqi civilians mistakenly identified as collateral damage:

Number of Iraqi child limbs lost or amputated:

Number of Iraqi child hands and arms lost or amputated:

Number of Iraqi child feet and legs lost or amputated:

Number of Iraqi children orphaned:

Number of Iraqi children under 5 killed:

Number of Iraqi children under 5 injured or maimed:

Percentage of Iraqi children wetting their beds due to war-related mental trauma:

Percentage of Iraqi children who think they will live to grow up:

Percentage of Iraqi children suffering severe war-related mental trauma:

Percentage of Iraqi children having war-related nightmares every night:

Percentage of Iraqi children’s lives turned upside down:

Number of premature babies born in Iraq since war started:

Number of Iraqi mothers who lost sons:

Numbers of Iraqi sons who lost mothers:

Number of Iraqi families made fatherless:

Number of Iraqi wives widowed:

Number of Iraqi women raped by US or British troops:

Number of Iraqi family units obliterated:

Number of human bodies never to be recovered due to war:

Number of humans permanently disabled due to Iraq war:

Number of humans killed:

Number of humans wounded:

Number of Iraqi soldiers, conscripts, or volunteers killed:

Number of Iraqi soldiers, conscripts, or volunteers wounded:

Number of Iraqi soldiers, conscripts, or volunteers disabled:

Number of American soldiers killed:

Number of American soldiers wounded:

Number of American soldiers disabled:

Number of British soldiers killed:

Number of British soldiers wounded:

Number of British soldiers disabled:

Number of international volunteer resistance fighters who have come to Iraq:

Number of international volunteer resistance fighters killed:

Number of international volunteer resistance fighters wounded:

Number of fundamentalist Christian American soldiers who view occupation as a chance for Iraqis to have true freedom in Jesus Christ, and who plan to share God’s love:

Number of Biblical prophets and figures who called Iraq home:

Number of historically and spiritually significant monuments, buildings, and sites damaged or destroyed by Anglo-American bombing and shelling:

Number of visits Saddam Hussein made to US Embassy in Cairo in his youth:

Number of visits Donald Rumsfeld made to Baghdad as Reagan’s envoy to Saddam Hussein:

Number of Iraqis killed by Baathists in the 1960s who were on death-lists supplied by the CIA:

Number of years Saddam Hussein spent on CIA payroll:

Number of camels killed or injured by US troops:

Dollar cost of property and livestock war damage and destruction in Iraq:

Dollar cost of war and occupation to Iraqi economy:

Dollar cost of war and occupation to American economy:

Dollar cost of war and occupation to world economy:

Number of uninsured Americans who could have been covered with health insurance using money for Iraq war:

Percentage of American schools that could have been repaired using money for Iraq war:

Number of homes that could have been built for homeless American veterans using money for Iraq war:

Dollar value of lost business due to anti-American consumer boycotts around the world:

Percentage of Baghdad residents participating in looting:

Percentage of Baghdad residents paralyzed by fear in their homes:

Percentage of Iraqi families who lost at least one relative to Saddam Hussein due to war and repression:

Percentage of Iraqi families who lost at least one relative because of Bush Sr., Clinton, and Bush Jr. due to war and sanctions:

Number of Iraqi children who died due to sanctions regime:

Number of Iraqi children who died due to sanctions regime acceptable to Albright:

Number of Iraqi children who died under sanctions regime because of diarrhea-related illnesses:

Number of phone threats to American interests around the world:

Percentage of American embassies or consulates that saw antiwar protests or demonstrations:

Number of McDonald’s restaurants vandalized worldwide:

Increase in the number of people praying for the downfall of America around the world:

Number of Arabs or Muslims who have thought of joining Al-Qaeda because of the war:

Gallons of Iraqi civilian blood spilled or shed:

Gallons of tears shed worldwide due to Iraq war:

Gallons of oil under Iraqi soil:

Gallons of oil used by US military during Iraq war:

Lives per gallon of average American car:

Lives per gallon of average car worldwide:

Number of photographs of Iraqi children killed or injured aired on American television or in print media:

Number of photographs of Iraqi children killed or injured aired on worldwide television or in print media:

Number of Iraqi civilian human interest stories in the American media:

Number of Iraqi civilian human interest stories in international media:

Percentage of self-censored American journalists:
Mas’ood Cajee, a member of the FOR National Council, is a health policy fellow and Masters student at the Harvard School of Public Health. He can be reached at mcajee@hsph.harvard.edu.

©2003 Fellowship of Reconciliation