Researchers claims that 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died in war

MORE than 100,000 civilians have died as a result of the allied invasion of Iraq in March last year, the first study of mortality in the country claims today. The research, conducted in Iraq last month by a team of American and Iraqi researchers, will be published on the online edition of The Lancet, the medical journal. It suggests that most civilian deaths have been due to military activity, with those caused by violence rising sharply in recent months.

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  thanks to DANGEROUSMETA!

A SOLDIER'S STORY: "VOTING FOR BUSH WON'T HELP US"

I JUST SAT NEXT TO A VERY TOUGH SOLDIER FROM THE 82ND AIRBORNE on a flight back from Europe. I have been thinking for two days about how to share some of the things he told me without compromising him.

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  thanks to Political Animal

Increase in War Funding Sought
Bush to Request $70 Billion More

Americans prepare for the 'final assault' on rebel stronghold

For the American military, Fallujah is "the last battle", an overwhelming assault that will destroy the epicentre of the rebellion sweeping through the country, the beginning of the end of major American military action in Iraq. For the insurgents, Fallujah is a rallying cry. An American attack will, they declare, lead to retribution throughout Iraq, re-invigorating the resistance, just as an attack on the city did six months earlier.

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  thanks to Antiwar.com

Provincial Capital Near Falluja Is Rapidly Slipping Into Chaos

The American military and the interim Iraqi government are quickly losing control of this provincial capital, which is larger and strategically more important than its sister city of Falluja, say local officials, clerics, tribal sheiks and officers with the United States Marines.

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