The Brookings Institution recently updated their Iraq Index in mid-September 2009. The newest edition includes updated monthly death statistics. At first, Brookings relied upon several sources, including their own analysis of Iraq Body Count's statistics, and the United Nations. Currently, they use U.S. government numbers based upon occasional briefings and reports by the State and Defense Departments. These come in the form of charts, which Brookings then interprets. That's the reason why the numbers are rounded to the nearest tens.
The Iraq Index figures are presented alongside the other major sources on casualties, Iraq Body Count, icasualties.org, the Iraqi Ministries, and the Associated Press. All five sources follow the same general pattern. First, 2009 has not been as deadly as 2008. According to Brookings there were an average of 386.6 deaths per month in the last six months of 2008 compared to 276.6 deaths per month in the first half of this year. If looked at in quarters, Brookings, and the other counts all go up and down over the last five quarters. The Iraq Index shows a decline from an average of 450.0 deaths in the third quarter of 2008, to 323.3 in the fourth quarter, and 253.3 in the first three months of 2009, before deaths go back up to 300.0 in the second quarter. Brookings does not have statistics for September 2009, but the other sources show deaths going down in the third quarter of the year compared to the second.
Iraqi Deaths
Brookings Institution | Iraq Body Count | icasualties | Iraqi Ministries | Associated Press | |
2008 | |||||
July | 500 | 584 | 419 | 465 | 510 |
Aug. | 450 | 592 | 311 | 431 | 475 |
Sep. | 400 | 535 | 366 | 440 | 503 |
Oct. | 350 | 528 | 288 | 318 | 446 |
Nov. | 270 | 473 | 317 | 340 | 360 |
Dec. | 350 | 522 | 320 | 316 | 393 |
2009 | |||||
Jan. | 270 | 276 | 187 | 191 | 242 |
Feb. | 230 | 343 | 202 | 258 | 288 |
March | 260 | 416 | 278 | 252 | 335 |
April | 340 | 484 | 347 | 355 | 371 |
May | 240 | 332 | 188 | 165 | 225 |
June | 320 | 488 | 367 | 438 | 447 |
July | 220 | 395 | 240 | 275 | 309 |
Aug. | 300 | 537 | 439 | 456 | 425 |
Sep. | N/A | 296 | 158 | 203 | 238 |
Averages | |||||
3rd Qtr. 2008 | 450.0 | 570.3 | 365.3 | 446.3 | 496.0 |
4th Qtr. 2008 | 323.3 | 507.6 | 308.3 | 324.6 | 379.6 |
1st Qtr. 2009 | 253.3 | 345.0 | 222.3 | 233.6 | 288.3 |
2nd Qtr. 2009 | 300.0 | 434.6 | 300.6 | 319.3 | 347.6 |
3rd Qtr. 2009 | N/A | 409.3 | 279.0 | 311.3 | 324.0 |
Last 6 months of 2008 | 386.6 | 539.0 | 336.8 | 385.0 | 447.8 |
First 6 months of 2009 | 276.6 | 389.8 | 261.0 | 276.5 | 317.5 |
Associated Press, “Iraq: Key figures since the war began,” 11/3/08
- “Iraq: Key figures since the war began,” 1/2/09
- “Iraq: Key figures since the war began,” 10/1/09
Gamel, Kim, “U.S. monthly toll new low for Iraq,” Associated Press, 8/1/08
O’Hanlon, Michael Campbell, Jason, “Iraq Index,” 9/22/09
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