Collateral damage

What Americans don't know about the death toll in Iraq.

Published February 26, 2007 4:37PM (EST)

AP-Ipsos pollsters asked Americans to say how many U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq. The median response was about right -- 2,974 at a time when the actual number was just under 3,100. But when asked how many Iraqis have been killed, the Americans polled missed the mark about as badly as they could. The median response was 9,890 at a time when semi-official estimates of the Iraqi death toll start at 54,000 and go up dramatically from there. Only 22 percent of the respondents said the Iraqi death toll exceeds 50,000, while 32 percent put the number at 10,000 or fewer.

Correction: Because of a typographical error, an earlier version of this post said that "only 52 percent" of the respondents said the Iraqi death toll exceeds 50,000. The correct number is 22 percent.


By Tim Grieve

Tim Grieve is a senior writer and the author of Salon's War Room blog.

MORE FROM Tim Grieve


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Iraq War War Room