REAGAN'S BODY COUNT

Grenada, 1983, 45 killed, 337 wounded

Libya, 1986, approximately 100 killed

Guatemala, 1981-1989, 70,000 killed

El Salvador, 1981-1989, 65,000 killed

Honduras, 1981-1989, approximately 1,000

Nicaragua, 1981-1989, 50,000-70,000

Colombia, 1981-89, 40,000+

Turkey/Kurdistan, 1984-1989, 16,000

Iraq/Iran, 1981-1989, over 1,000,000

East Timor, 1981-1989 approx. 100,000

South Africa, 1981-1989, approx. 3,500

Chile, 1981-1989, approx. 1,200

Argentina, 1981-83, approx. 5,000 (an admittedly conservative estimate)

Haiti, 1981-1989, some 2,000

Angola, 1981-1986, 100,000 (the "civil" war ended much later but there was a ceasefire for a tick in the late 80s)

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On top of this, there is AIDS. While Reagan's Health Department rushed to stop Legionnaire's Disease and Toxic Shock Syndrome, he ignored AIDS for most of his two terms. The result was the world's deadliest pandemic, surpassing the death toll of even the "Black Death" of mediaeval Europe.

Get weepy-eyed over Reagan's casket? Hardly. Instead, I'll remember the many friends whom he helped into theirs.