Somber Graphics, NY Times Interactive Mapping of US military dead in Iraq
October 26, 2005
With the US military death toll reaching 2000 in Iraq, the NY Times has composed a macabre interactive web presentation of the dead. One may search by date of death, name, home or age (there are 19 listed who have died at the age of 18).
The US incursion into Iraq presents the highest military loss since Vietnam. Once again it seems as if history has been forgotten and the same mistakes are executed. The democrat congressional members voice their regrets at having voted for the invasion. They say that they were misinformed, but in reality were meek and incapable of standing against being strong armed into a lengthy, costly and unnecessary error.
I wonder if the NY Times has used XML to build this flash application, so that the look at those who died in Iraq will continue to update as no clear end seems possible in this invasion.
I also wonder if anyone is searching for the means to create an equivalent presentation for the Iraqi who have died, it would be a useful reminder of who are the ones that are suffering the most. There is of course the Iraq Body Count that reports the number of civilian deaths due to the military intervention, but the database depends on media-reports and can not present details or images of the dead.
I was on a flight this past Sunday and sat next to a man from New Orleans. We talked about the disaster in New Orleans and he complained at the lack of spending in rebuilding New Orleans while we spend so much money on rebuilding another country. He questioned where our country’s priorities lay.
NY Times “A Look at Those Who Died in Iraq:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/26/national/IRAQDEATHS_GRAPHIC.html?th&emc=th
The Iraq Body Count: