655 000 Iraqis gone

It's too much for words.

Almost the equivalent of the entire population of Steeltown. Gone.

John Hopkins Bloomberg school of public health has updated their epidemiological survey of extra-normal deaths in Iraq since the invasion (deaths above and beyond what would be expected in 'normal' Iraqi circumstances):

Researchers spoke to nearly 1,850 families, comprising more than 12,800 people in dozens of 40-household clusters around the country.
Of the 629 deaths they recorded among these families, 13% took place in the 14 months before the invasion and 87% in the 40 months afterwards.
Such a trend repeated nationwide would indicate a rise in annual death rates from 5.5 per 1,000 to 13.3 per 1,000.
The researchers say that in nearly 80% of the individual cases, family members produced death certificates to support their answers.
[...]
The survey suggests that most of the extra deaths - 601,000 - would have been the result of violence, mostly gunfire, and suggests that 31% could be attributable to action by US-led coalition forces.

The proper journal article will be out this Thursday (TheLancet.com). This is peer-reviewed data.

Thinking of it in its excruciating depth--one death, one funeral, 10-20 relatives grieving X 655 000 is too much.