Here,s an independant study done on the Iraq death count. Unlike mathematics, statistics is not an exact science. Even more, it is the science of error. "All surveys have potential for error and bias," admits the study report. In their final comments, the research authors address many possible biases one by one, acknowledging possible resulting fluctuations in the findings. That is why each total is reported within a margin called the "confidence interval". 601,027 excess violent deaths is called the "best guess" or the "best estimate" because it is the closest to the actual number of deaths ranging from 426,369 and 793,663. The same reasoning applies to 654,965, the estimated total number of Iraqis (within a range from about 400,000 to 950,000) who would not have died from any cause if the invasion had not occurred in March 2003.