Iraq Casualties, Iraq Costs, Iraq Numbers

Below Is a detailed list of Iraq "by the numbers" released by Senator Harry Reid's office:


The Cost to Our Forces in Iraq

3,990: American troops who have died in Iraq since the start of the war. [icasualties.org, 3/17/08]

29,395: Number of U.S. service members that have been wounded in hostile action since the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq. [AP, 3/11/08]

60,000: Number of troops that have been subjected to controversial stop-loss measures--meaning those who have completed service commitments but are forbidden to leave the military until their units return from war. [US News and World Report, 2/25/08]

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5: Number of times the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment has been sent to Iraq. They are the first Marine Corps unit to be sent to Iraq for a fifth time. [San Francisco Chronicle, 2/27/08]

2,100: Number of troops who tried to commit suicide or injure themselves increased from 350 in 2002 to 2,100 last year. [US News and World Report, 2/25/08]

11.9: Percent of noncommissioned Army officers who reported mental health problems during their first Iraq tour [Los Angeles Times, 3/7/08]

27.2: Percent of noncommissioned Army officers who reported mental health problems during their third or fourth Iraq tour [Los Angeles Times, 3/7/08]

The Cost to Our Military Readiness

88: Percent of current and former U.S. military officers surveyed in a recent independent study who believe that the demands of the war in Iraq have "stretched the U.S. military dangerously thin" [Foreign Policy/Center for New American Security, 2/19/08]

94: Percent of Army recruits who had high school diplomas in Fiscal Year 2003 [Larry Korb, The Guardian, 10/12/07]

79: Percent of Army recruits who had high school diplomas in Fiscal Year 2007 [Larry Korb, The Guardian, 10/12/07]

4,644: Number of new Army recruits who were granted moral waivers in Fiscal Year 2003. [Houston Chronicle, 10/14/07]

12,057: Number of new Army recruits who were granted moral waivers in Fiscal Year 2007. [Houston Chronicle, 10/14/07]

67: Percent of captains the Army managed to retain this year, short of its goal of 80 percent, and in spite of cash bonus incentives of up to $35,000 [Armed Services Committee Hearing, 2/26/08]

The Cost to Our National Security

1,188: Number of global terrorist incidents from January - September 11th, 2001. [American Security Project, "Are We Winning?," September 2007]

5,188: Number of global terrorist incidents in from January- September 11th, 2006. [American Security Project, "Are We Winning?," September 2007]

30: Percent increase in violence in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2007. [Reuters, 10/15/07]

21: Number of suicide bombings in Afghanistan in 2001. [Center for American Progress, "The Forgotten Front," 11/07]

139: Number of suicide bombings in Afghanistan in 2006, with an additional increase of 69 percent as of November 2007. [Center for American Progress, "The Forgotten Front," 11/07]

30: Percent of Afghanistan controlled by the Afghan Government according to DNI Mike McConnell. [Associated Press, 2/27/08]

2,380: Days since September 11th, 2001 that Osama Bin Laden has been at-large.

The Cost of Funding the War in Iraq

$50-60 Billion: Bush Administration's pre-war estimates of the cost of the war. [New York Times, 12/31/02]

$12 Billion: Direct cost per month of the Iraq War. [Washington Post, Bilmes and Stiglitz Op-Ed, 3/9/08]

$526 Billion: Amount of money already appropriated by Congress for the War in Iraq. [CRS, 2/22/08]

$3 Trillion: Total estimated cost of the Iraq War. [Washington Post, Bilmes and Stiglitz Op-Ed, 3/9/08]

$5 Trillion - $7 Trillion: Total cost of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan accounting for continued military operations, growing debt and interest payments and continuing health care and counseling costs for veterans. [McClatchy, 2/27/08]

160: Percent that the cost of the Iraq War has increased from 2004 to 2008. [CRS Report, 2/22/08]

The Cost to Iraqis and Journalists

8,000: Number of Iraqi military and police killed since June 2003. [Brookings Institute, Iraq Index, March 13, 2008]

82,000-89,000: Estimate of Iraqi civilians casualties from violence since the beginning of the Iraq War. [Iraq Body Count]

4.5 Million: Number of Iraqi refugees both inside and outside the country. [Washington Post, 3/17/08]

61: Percent of Iraqis that believe the U.S. military presence makes the security situation in Iraq worse. [Agence France-Presse, 3/17/08]

127: Number of journalists killed in Iraq since March 2003. [Committee to Protect Journalists]

Economic Costs of War in Iraq

$33.51: Cost of a barrel of oil in March 2003. [Energy Information Administration]

$105.68: Cost of a barrel of oil on March 17, 2008. [NYMEX]

U.S. Troops and Contractors in Iraq

132,000: Number of U.S. troops in Iraq in January 2007, before President Bush's escalation. [Brookings Institution, Iraq Index, 3/13/08]

155,000: Number of U.S. troops currently in Iraq. [Brookings Institution, Iraq Index, 3/13/08]

140,000: Number of U.S. troops projected to be in Iraq in July 2008. [Associated Press, 2/26/08]

35,000: Number of private security contractors operating in Iraq. [Human Rights First, Private Security Contractors at War]

180,000: Number of private contractors operating in Iraq. [Human Rights First, Private Security Contractors at War]

Progress Towards Political Reconciliation Made By Iraqis

3: Number out of 18 Bush Administration Benchmarks Met by Iraqi Government As of January 24, 2008. [Center for American Progress, 1/24/08]

18: Number of provinces President Bush said would be secured by Iraqis as of November 2007. [President Bush Speech, 1/10/07]

8: Number of provinces actually secured by Iraqis as of January 2008. [NPR, 1/7/08]

Bush-Republican Intransigence on Staying the Course in Iraq

8: Number of times a majority of the Senate has voted to change course in Iraq.

7: Number of times Bush Republicans in Congress have blocked changing course in Iraq.

1: Number of vetoes issued by the White House over changing course in Iraq.

Comments

[daharbin]

It bothers me that so little emphasis is placed on the 82,000-89,000 Iraqi civilian casualties. Moreover, that may be a low number, as the World Health Organization estimated 101,000 and 224,000 from 2003 to 2006, while Johns Hopkins School of Public Health estimated 655,000 "excess civilian deaths" from the invasion through 2006.

People (mostly unqualified) may debate these numbers, but there's no hiding the utter devastation we have brought to Iraq, which can be laid squarely at the feet of a President we (as a nation) re-elected. And each of those numbers was someone's brother, sister, mother, or son.

In the Vietnam war, we lost 58,000 Americans, but you hardly ever hear about the 1,000,000 Vietnamese who also lost their lives.

[jbs1979]

Another disturbing number is 1, as in the percentage of cable news coverage devoted to the war since January. But, hey, how important is our country waging an illegal and unjust war compared to some things Obama's pastor said? That's where our outrage should be focused right? How foolish of me to think that the politicians who designed and authorized the war have blood on their hands and should be held accountable by voters.

[TheraP]

Attempted suicides: 2100.... that we know of!

[Leadbottom]

re True cost to Iraqis: Lancet study, even in 2004 estimated civilian deaths at 100,000. The Lancet study in 2006 gave the Actual death toll to be 10 times the Iraq body count. Let us not forget the non civilian deaths, the many wounded and their grieving families. For sobering testimony check out democracynow.org for U.S. veterans testimony (winter soldiers) on barbarism and the psychological costs......tellingly under reported in mainstream media.

[wolfbato]

Did Prez Bush actually say the word "hope" in his anniversary speech? Anybody notice the flowery speech ... I smell Writer Envy ... Bush's speech writers are trying to match Obama's writers ... and are failing. What a surprise.

[Orlando]

The people who betrayed the trust given to them and lied America into a War of Aggression, are guilty of Treason, Human Rights Violations and War Crimes.
TRIALS NOW!

[andrewballen]

Look, I voted for the guy in 2000 and (I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but) this man, for his lack of intellectual curiosity, for his shallowness and moral turpitude, for his embarrassing command of geopolitics and the English language, for his arrant arrogance in the face of a withering set of irrefutable facts proving that this god-awful war was mis-sold, mis-judged and mis-handled, for the appalling cost in lives and treasure, for his direct complicity in and personification of our great country's all-time low mark in the court of world opinion... This man, this unacceptable excuse for a President regardless of Party affiliation, is I believe the worst President in the History of The United Staes of America.

And with the likes of Grant, Hoover, Nixon, Carter and Coolidge in the running, Dubyah had some solid competition for the mantle. Yet he takes it by at least horse (jackass?) length.

I am nearly speechless. God save our country.

[regellner]

How can anybody think that continuing this war is a good idea? The only good thing there is about the Bush "presidency" is that it will end.

[saami]

We need to impeach Bush and Cheney. They are guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors and should be impeached and punished to show the world we are a country of laws. Anything less is not enough to assuage our collective guilt for tolerating this crime, this war.

[CaptainObvious]

Don't count your chickens before they've hatched.

[Waitjustaminute]

wait... the caption/headline currently says 4.5 billion refugees. thwak!

[TheQuestion]

Just add -

And John McCain thinks we should stay forever & you'd have a perfect Democratic Party commercial.

[pugnax]

Happy anniversary, Iraq!