] One of the most mysterious aspects of this highly
] mysterious war is the absence of casualties. People get
] killed in normal wars. Who is getting killed in this one?
] And where is the Iraqi army?
]
] As a percentage of those engaged, casualties represent
] less than one tenth of one per cent. For purposes of
] comparison, during the Second World War casualties in
] Bomber Command of four per cent per sortie - say 300 dead
] aircrew each 1,000 bomber raid - were thought bearable.
]
] The British death toll so far is under 30 and most of the
] victims have died in accidents. The American death toll
] is not much higher.
]
] Opponents of the war will say that, though Western
] casualties may be low, that is not true of the Iraqis.
] Perhaps but where is the proof?
]
] Although there is still a large Western press corps in
] Baghdad, television has so far succeeded in bringing us
] only the most paltry evidence of deaths inflicted among
] civilians by the coalition - three here, perhaps 17
] there, but that may have been Iraqi friendly fire. In a
] similar incident during the Bosnian war, when a Sarajevo
] market was shelled by the Serbs, 80 were killed. The
] Iraqi government announced yesterday that 1,250 civilians
] have died but provided no evidence.