From the October 2006 Idaho Observer:

Facts on the ground:"Excess" Iraqi deaths since U.S.-led occupation began: 655,000+

A recently-released statistical analysis published by Baltimore’s Johns-Hopkins University estimates that 655,000 "excess" Iraqi deaths—87 percent of which are attributable to the post-invasion, U.S.-led occupation of Iraq which began in March, 2003.

The term "excess" regarding Iraqi civilian deaths is the number of occupation deaths minus pre-invasion mortality rates. The number is significantly greater than the unchanging 30,000 standard estimated by the Bush administration and the 100,000-300,000 estimated by the Lancet in October, 2004.

Regarding the Johns-Hopkins report, President Bush stated the methodology used to calculate the figures has been "pretty well discredited."

Human rights groups and reporters like Dahr Jamail believe the 655,000 (2.6 percent of Iraq’s 2004 population of 25,000,000) figure, based upon interviews with a random sampling of households across Iraq, is closer to the truth but may still be low. "For over a year now many Iraqis have been referring to what is happening in their country as genocide," reported Jamail who concluded, "With over 500 Iraqis being killed every single day as a direct result of the occupation, it is difficult to argue with them."

In order for Americans to appreciate what the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq is accomplishing in their name—the on-going murders of hundreds of innocent Iraqi men, women and children every day—the current estimated death toll in Iraq would be the equivalent of 7.8 million Americans being murdered by outside invaders claiming their intent was to bring freedom to our sovereign nation.