July casualty figures are nearly finalized for Iraq and Chicago, with Chicago having 4 times the number of murders as US Military Casualties in Iraq.

By my count, 7 of the casualties in Iraq were the result of hostile fire, the other 6 were accidents. Accidents, of course, are not regarded as homicide in Chicago.

In response to a previous comment, 4 homicides were counted in Sen. Obama’s former State Senate District, with the adjacent wards adding 13 more homicides.

Calculations may vary for Chicago, as ongoing cases are not consistenly included in homicide statistics. In Iraq, injuries which later result in death are counted in the month of the death rather than month of the injury.

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John Powers is the President of the Chicago Daily Observer.