I was still plowing through the Tabulation Study trying to find that. It's something they should have been clearer on up front.

It is undeniable that the death rate has increased for civilians since they became the primary targets of terrorism, secular violence, and insurgency, and a lot of that was after the U.N. study. But note that the Lancet study at the same time was still much larger.

Tabulators have given up on trying to separate crimes out, and so the current death rates are higher for that reason, too. (The Brookings Iraq Index is typical. See page 10.)

Keep in mind that Saddam death rates are from Saddam's government, including those quoted by CIA Factbooks.

My objection to the Lancet study is that its numbers so grossly exceed numbers from not only the U.N. study, but other methods. That, and it is so obviously intended as a political shot, with the timing, the background, and the rest.

Sad thing is, "655,000 deaths" is not going to be seen as "needs further study" by most people, but accepted as unvarnished fact.