U.S. military killed in
Iraq: 1,469
Number of U.S. troops
wounded in combat since the war began: 10,938
Monthly average before
the June 28, 2004 “transition”: 449
Monthly casualty average
(dead and wounded) since the “transition”: 802
Iraqi soldiers and
insurgents killed since May 1, 2003: approximately 24,000
Iraqi civilians killed: Estimates range from 15,000 - 100,000
Number of civilian
contractors killed: 207
Number of insurgents in
Iraq:
November 2003 estimate: 5,000 fighters
December 2004 estimate: 40,000 fighters and 200,000 Iraqi sympathizers
What the Iraq war has
created, according to the U.S. National Intelligence Council: “a training and
recruitment ground (for terrorists), and an opportunity for terrorists to
enhance their technical skills.”
Effect on al Qaeda of
the Iraq War, according to International Institute for Strategic Studies: “Accelerated
recruitment”
Percentage of Americans
who believe the situation in Iraq was “worth going to war over”: 39%
Percentage of Americans
who believe that the Iraq War has worsened the U.S. image in the world: 65%
Percentage of people
polled in 21 countries around the world who believed Mr Bush’s re-election to
the White House made the world more dangerous: 58%
Percentage of Iraqis
expressing “no confidence” in U.S. civilian authorities or coalition forces:
80%
Fraction of the 148,000
U.S. soldiers in Iraq who are Guard members or Reservists: 4 out of 10
Status of Army National
Guard recruitment: down 30%
Average number of
attacks by Iraqi resistance per week: 425
What General James
Helmly, the Army Reserve’s commander, told the Pentagon in December 2004: his
men were “degenerating into a broken force”
Percentage of reserve
troops who earn lower salaries while on deployment: 30-40%
Percentage of U.S.
police departments missing officers due to Iraq deployments: 44%
The bill so far: $146.6 billion
February 14 request from
the President: $61 billion more
What $207 billion could
have paid for in the U.S.:
Affordable housing
units: 1.86 million or
Health care for
uninsured Americans for one year: 47 million or
Scholarships for
university students: 40 million
Head Start slots for a
year: 27 million
Port container
inspectors: 3 million
The $146 billion already
allocated could pay for 2 years worth of:
Food for half the hungry
people in the world and
A comprehensive global
AIDS treatment and prevention program and
Clean water and
sanitation throughout the developing world and
Childhood immunizations
for all children in the developing world
Estimated cost of war to
date to every U.S. household: $2,000
Average monthly cost of
the Vietnam War, adjusted for inflation: $5.2 billion
Average monthly cost of
the Iraq War: $5.8 billion
Amount contractor
Halliburton is alleged to have charged for meals never served to troops and for
cost overruns on fuel deliveries: $221
million
Kickbacks received by
Halliburton employees from subcontractors: $6 million
More facts, figures, and
analysis at:
www.ips-dc.org
The Institute for Policy
Studies is a progressive multi-issue think tank that links ideas to action for peace,
justice and the environment. Foreign Policy In Focus, a joint project of
the Institute for Policy
Studies and the Interhemispheric Resource Center, is a “think tank without walls” that functions as
an international network of more than 650 policy analysts and advocates.
IPS/FPIF, 733 15th
Street NW, Suite 1020, Washington, DC 20005; 202-234-9382.
A Study by the Institute
for Policy Studies and Foreign Policy In Focus.
By Phyllis Bennis and the IPS Iraq Task Force; the
first comprehensive accounting of the costs
of the war on the United States, Iraq, and the World. Report released September
30, 2004. This factsheet revised February 17, 2005.
HOME