Sorry to upset you, I wasn't trying to "shift the playing field", just asknig a question. I should have put it in a separate post.

You didn't really respond to my original point, though - are even the lower numbers OK with you?

But since we are on the UN numbers - firstly, I think there are those who would like the reported numbers to be lower, which to me is more heinous than inflating them. Would you agree that those who are behind the war would like the numbers to be lower?

Secondly, as I recall, the Lancet number was about 100,000 excess Iraqi deaths since the start of the war. The UN number is 34,000 in 2006. How exactly are these figures incompatible?
They deal with different time intervals, so unless the shorter time figure is larger than the longer time figure, they aren't incompatible. Do you kow something I dont'?