So anyway, I (among others on the undisclosed-recipients list) received this email from the Foreign Office’s Iraq Policy Unit the other day:

Thank you for your e-mail calling for an independent inquiry into Iraqi civilian casualties. We agree that the civilian casualties that have occurred in Iraq, including under the previous regime, are of significant concern.

You asked about the possibility of an assessment by the UK of civilian casualties. As the Foreign Secretary explained in his written statement to Parliament on 17 November 2004, it would be impossible in many cases for non-Iraqi agencies to make a reliable assessment of either civilian casualties resulting from particular attacks, or of civilian casualties since March 2003.

We believe that the Iraqi authorities remain in the best position to record casualties in their country. The Iraqi Ministry of Health has collated statistics from hospital records since April 2004. On 28 January 2005 the Iraqi Ministry of Health stated that between July and December 2004, 3,274 Iraqi civilians were killed. The Ministry of Health does not give details about who or how they died, or attempt to determine responsibility. An independent inquiry is highly unlikely to be able to gain better access and provide more accurate information on civilian casualties than the Iraqi Government itself.

We regret that accurate civilian casualty figures are not available from the Iraqi Ministry of Health prior to April 2004 but this does not mean that we do not value Iraqi lives. Our armed forces, and those of other nations making up the Multi-National Force (MNF), are risking their lives on a daily basis to help the Iraqis bring much-deserved security, stability and democracy to their country.

As the Prime Minister noted in the House of Commons on 8 December 2004, the casualties that have occurred since major combat activities ended on 1 May 2003 have occurred as a result of actions by those determined to undermine the political process. Events of the last few weeks continue to reveal how terrorists are targeting the very Iraqis who are working hard to build a better future for their country. Terrorists and insurgents must lay down their weapons, and enable the vitally important reconstruction and humanitarian work to go ahead.

Yours sincerely,
Iraq Policy Unit

You have to smile wearily at the familiar patronising tone of it all. There’s a number of points to address:

…it would be impossible in many cases for non-Iraqi agencies to make a reliable assessment of either civilian casualties resulting from particular attacks, or of civilian casualties since March 2003.
Why? In his written statement of November 17 2004 (which deserves a debunking in its own right), Jack Straw doesn’t go into detail other than to say, “In many cases it would be impossible to make a reliably accurate assessment either of the civilian casualties resulting from any particular attacks or of the overall civilian casualties of a conflict. This is particularly true in the conditions that exist in Iraq”. In other words, the security situation has been allowed to deteriorate so far that Jack couldn’t count the corpses even if he wanted to.

We believe that the Iraqi authorities remain in the best position to record casualties in their country. The Iraqi Ministry of Health has collated statistics from hospital records since April 2004.
Despite the fact that some people aren’t taken to hospital, particularly if they’re already dead.

We regret that accurate civilian casualty figures are not available from the Iraqi Ministry of Health prior to April 2004 but this does not mean that we do not value Iraqi lives.
The soldiers that shot the family at a checkpoint on January 18 didn’t look like they held Iraqi lives in much esteem. And what about these Iraqi lives? The following sentence after this is:

Our armed forces, and those of other nations making up the Multi-National Force (MNF), are risking their lives on a daily basis.
To which I’d reply, I’d rather be a squaddie with a machine gun than a father trying to get my wife and children through a checkpoint. And as gambits go to deflect an issue, this is a clumsy one. But you can get away with that in a mass-mailout fobbing-off, I suppose.

The casualties that have occurred since major combat activities ended on 1 May 2003 have occurred as a result of actions by those determined to undermine the political process.
Not true. Unless coalition forces are trying to “undermine the political process” as well.

Terrorists and insurgents must lay down their weapons, and enable the vitally important reconstruction and humanitarian work to go ahead.
Let’s hope they’re on the FCO mailing list then.