How many Iraqi civilians are being killed in Iraq has long been a near-universal bone of contention, and this article does little to remove that bone from anyone's throat, right, left or center. It seems just another guess, largely, thrown out along with many others previously, have ranged from a few thousands to well over one hundred thousand. Will we ever know? Not with slipshod reporting like this

It's not a coherent piece. The first half is about the numbers of Iraqis killed, then it tags on an unsourced bit about the source of the violence. Who is blaming Shiite militias? If it's the UN, the same source for the lerger numbers, the source would be visible and, perhaps more credible than a politically motivated one like the US government.