U.S. bombs have killed more than 3,500 Afghan civilians, according to a study, released Dec. 10, by Marc W. Herold, professor of economics, international relations and women’s studies at the University of New Hampshire. The economics professor said he wants “to make the figures known. This is a war with 62 Afghan civilians dying a day. This figure should become part of the public discussion.”

Herold said he began gathering data on civilian casualties Oct. 7, culling information from news agencies, major newspapers and first-hand accounts. “I decided to do the study because I suspected that the modern weaponry was not what it was advertised to be,” he said.

For each day since Oct. 7, the start of the U.S. air war, the study lists the number of casualties, location, type of weapon used and source of information. Herold’s news release provided an example from his daily calculations: “On Oct. 11, two U.S. jets bombed the mountain village of Karam, comprised of 60 mud houses, during dinner and evening prayer time, killing 100-160 people.

“Sources: DAWN, (English language Pakistani daily) The Guardian of London, The Independent, International Herald Tribune, The Observer and the BBC News.”

Herold’s analysis can be found at http://www.cursor.org/stories/civilian_deaths.htm

-- Claire Schaeffer-Duffy

National Catholic Reporter, December 21, 2001

• Top of page