Washblog

University officials were working hard to bring him to Canada through France or Switzerland, but while flights could be arranged, officials have not heard from those countries about whether they would grant him a visa. With Dr. Lafta are scores of documents that will help researchers from Simon Fraser, Washington and Iraq determine how badly the U.S.-led war in Iraq affects children -- whether birth defects in Iraq are on the rise, and whether Iraqi children are suffering a tenfold increase in cancers such as leukemia, said Simon Fraser professor Tim Takaro.

"We need this data and, as unpopular as it is, we need to complete this work," Dr. Takaro said. "It's extraordinary that the British would have held up something, and it makes me think that they were influenced to do it -- we'd love to know why."

Both Rep. McDermott and Sen. Cantwell had worked on behalf of Dr. Lafta and his colleagues to bring him to the University of Washington for a research conference. He was also scheduled to speak at Kane Hall on Friday night, but because the U.S. blocked his visa, he was rescheduled to speak at Simon Fraser University. When British officials blocked his transit, Les Roberts flew out from New York at the last minute to speak to the University of Washington audience live and to the Simon Fraser audience by video feed. Les Roberts was co-author of both the 2004 and 2006 Lancet studies.

In last night's talk, Dr. Roberts explained the research methods and findings of the two Lancet studies. In addition, he described the bizarre reaction of the U.S. media to the news that scientific studies indicated a much higher death rate in Iraq than commonly believed. If anyone in the audience still needed evidence of the myth of objectivity in the U.S. media's reporting of the news, Dr. Roberts provided it abundantly.

In the meantime, as the bodies pile up, as the morgues overflow, and as the graveyards run out of space for the newly dead, there are lunatics in this country who seriously insist the "surge" in Baghdad is working. It's time we described the likes of George Bush, John McCain and their cohort as they truly are: deranged.

Update: In today's P-I, there is an interview with Les Roberts.