NOW and MOYERS tonight's line-up: Iraq Conflict in Numbers .... more

MOYERS: Iraq Conflict in Numbers
March 21, 2008 - http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/03212008/profile4.html

Since the conflict in Iraq began in 2003, there have been battles over numbers. These disagreements range not only over how much money the was has cost — and may eventually cost — but over casualty numbers for coalition members and Iraqis. Counting the Iraqi citizens who were killed, injured or even displaced by the conflict faces some logistical challenges due to the lack of standardized reporting entities on the ground. But there is also and ongoing debate over just how the Department of Defense enumerates those injured in the conflict. Critics contend that many in-theater deaths and injuries go uncounted in the official totals — ruled accidents.

Of course, numbers are not just numbers in the coverage of a controversial war. As the NEW YORK TIMES public editor noted in the wake of a controversy over contradictory casualty figures reported by his own paper, the reality in Iraq depends on who's counting. And the numbers are used to support or criticize administration initiatives like the recent troop surge.

A media battle erupted in 2008 between the authors of a study in the British medical journal, THE LANCET, and THE NATIONAL JOURNAL. The LANCET STUDY contends that some 600,000 post-invasion Iraqi deaths are due to violence.

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BODY OF WAR
Enter the story of Iraq war veteran Tomas Young who was shot and paralyzed less than a week into his tour of duty. Three years in the making, BODY OF WAR tells the poignant tale of the young man's journey from joining the service after 9/11 to fight in Afghanistan, to living with devastating wounds after being deployed to Iraq instead.

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PHIL DONAHUE AND ELLEN SPIRO
Bill Moyers interviews former talk show host Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro on the true cost of war and their documentary, Body of War, depicting the moving story of one veteran dealing with the aftermath of war.

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http://www.pbs.org/now/
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I watched the Ice Skating World Championships....but Bill is repeated later in the evening for me so I'm OK. As well as Now, which I like, too.

I f*cking love Ice Skating...we all have our faults. But the ones I like never win....it's rigged. Just like our Elections.

Way to go, Phil Donahue. I hope millions of people see this film.

Something tells me "Body of War" could be as big as "Fahrenheit 9/11."

They're showing the bit with Tomas Young itemizing the medications he takes, interspersed with the Congressional roll call to go to war in 2002.

http://www.bodyofwar.com/

Yeah. This is gonna be huge.