Washington, DC - One of the most outspoken Members of Congress against the occupation of Iraq, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma) today issued the following statement on the recently released study by John Hopkins University on the number of civilians that have been killed in Iraq.  The report, which was undertaken by the John Hopkins School of Public Health with the assistance of the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, found that over 665,000 civilians have died since the invasion in March of 2003.

“Four years ago this week the Congress voted 296 to 133 to authorize President Bush to go to war against Iraq.  I voted against the authorization then, and today I continue to believe that it is in our own national interest to end our continued occupation.

“Today’s report released by John Hopkins puts an unparalleled face on the daily brutality and violence that families in Iraq are living with.  From IEDs, to roving death squads, Iraq is engaged in a civil war, and our troops and the civilians in Iraq continue to bare the brunt.  The study also finds that our presence as occupiers has led to worsening health conditions, and a breakdown of civil society.  I am particularly worried about the impact on the Iraqi children, who face death on a daily basis as well a future that is anything but certain.

“While the exact number of Iraqi civilians who have died since our occupation is perhaps impossible to calculate, there is no doubt that the violence and destruction is real, and that it is getting worse.  Not surprisingly the report finds that every year since the invasion, the death- toll has mounted.  Instead of bringing liberty and freedom to the people of Iraq, this administration’s failed Iraq Policy has left the population fearing for their lives day in and day out.

“In the name of humanity, and in the best interest of our own national security, we must end this madness, and we must bring our troops home.”