As it’s often said there’s lies, damned lies and statistics. Statistics can be used to say just about anything about anything. It’s not the numbers it’s how you use them. Still I feel that two sets of oppositely biased statistics can tell the truth, a perverse sort of two wrongs making a right.
In the case of the Iraq conflict the “good guys” are not even using statistics to support their case, they’re using pure rhetoric and a few key facts. Like Iraq not having complied with a few UN resolutions and giving numbers of warheads and amounts of nuclear materials Saddam might have. The best statistics come from the dove side, the peaceniks come up with more and better sounding numbers. Of course I take these all with a pinch of salt but the ones I’ve personally researched are right, and many others I’ve heard before.
Anyway, to cut to the point, here’s a list of statistics supporting the side of peace. Or at least supporting the side of reduced US aggression.
A few choice selections from the 50+ stats above.
… US military spending, about $450 billion…
7. Q: What percent of US military spending would ensure the essentials of life to everyone in the world, according to the UN?
A: 10% (that’s about$40 billion, the amount of funding initially requested to fund our retaliatory attack on Afghanistan).
28. Q: How many pounds of explosives were dropped on Iraq between December 1998
and September 1999?
A: 20 million
March 19th, 2003 at 9:51 pm
war and resignation
The BBC have posted a transcript of Robin Cook’s resignation speech and also a real audio file. It is definitely one of the finer speeches made in the House. Tonight the bombing will most likely start, as Dan pointed out, a couple