Wasabi crunch some numbers on here for facts.
If you dont have numbers and only have finger pointing and name calling, then I suggest you hit the books.[/QUOTE]
Here are some Numbers for the bean counters in here...
Cost of Violence in Iraq
• Number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq as of May 1, 2003: 139 [DoD, 6/12/07]
• Number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq: 3,506 [DoD, 6/12/07]
• Number of U.S. service members wounded in Iraq: 25,950 [DoD, 6/12/07]
• Number of wounded in action and unable to return to duty: 11,667 [DoD, 6/12/07]
• Number of U.S. troops killed in May: 127 – the third most deadly month for U.S. troops since the war
began [icasualties.org, 6/12/07]
• Number of U.S. troops killed so far this month (June): 35 [icasualties.org, 6/12/07]
• Percent of U.S. troops killed in Iraq over the past three months who have been casualties of makeshift
explosives: 80 [New York Times, 6/2/07]
• Number of insurgents in Iraq in November 2003: 5,000 [Brookings Institution, 6/7/07]
• Number of insurgents in Iraq in March 2007: 70,000 (Sunni only) [Brookings Institution, 6/7/07]
• Number of multi-fatality bombings in May 2004: 9 [Brookings Institution, 6/7/07]
• Number of multi-fatality bombings in May 2007: 42 [Brookings Institution, 6/7/07]
• Estimated number of people killed by multiple fatality bombings since May 2003: 12,830 [Brookings
Institution, 6/7/07]
• Number of civilian casualties in Iraq since U.S.-led invasion: estimates range from 54,000 – 76,500
[Brookings Institution, 6/7/07]
• Average number of daily attacks by insurgents in July 2003: 16 [Brookings Institution, 6/7/07]
• Average number of daily attacks by insurgents between November 2006 and February 2007: 149 [Brookings
Institution, 6/7/07]
Cost of the War to American Taxpayers
• Amount appropriated for the Iraq War so far: $476.8 billion
• Approximate amount U.S. currently spending in Iraq per month: $8 billion [CRS, 9/22/06]
• Amount in President Bush’s request for new DOD spending for the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan: $235
billion (including a FY07 supplemental of $93 billion and a FY08 supplemental of $142 billion)
Strain on the Military
• Number of U.S. troops currently in Iraq as of May 2007: 144,202 [CRS, 5/2/07]
• Number of Army soldiers and Marines notified last month of potential deployment to Iraq this fall: 35,000 –
unrelated to the “surge” [MSNBC, 5/11/07]
• Number of U.S. troops that have served more than one tour in Iraq or Afghanistan: 487,377 [DoD, 4./30/07]
• Number of active duty military who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001: 1.1 million
[DoD, 4/30/07]
• Number of National Guard and Reservists who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001:
425,179 [DoD, 4/30/07]
• Number of National Guard and Reservists that have served two or more tours since September 2001:
95,344 [DoD, 4/30/07]
• Percent of troops currently deployed who are in the National Guard and Reserves: 21 [DoD, 4/30/07]
• Number of months longer Army troops in Iraq have to serve as a result of a blanket tour extension order
issued by the Pentagon: at least 3 months [Pentagon, 4/11/07]
• Percent of the Army’s available active duty combat brigades that have served at least a 12-month tour in
Iraq or Afghanistan: 100 [Washington Post, 9/14/06]
• Length of average mobilization for Reserve & National Guard members: 18 months [Washington Post, 11/5/06]
• Length of combat tours for Iraqi military: 90 days [Washington Post, 6/2/07]
• Number of active duty or reserve brigades in the U.S. considered “combat ready”: 0 [CSM, 9/22/06]
• Percent of National Guard or Reserve units so poorly equipped they are rated “not ready”: 88 [Washington
Post, 3/2/07]
• Amount of essential equipment the Army National Guard has on-hand here at home: 30% [GAO Testimony,
9/21/06]
• Amount Army needs to repair or replace equipment destroyed/deteriorated in Iraq: $66.1 billion [CBS/AP,
9/25/06]
• Amount of time Army needs to catch up on backlog of equipment repairs generated from Iraq war: 3 years
[ABC News, 2/10/07]
Reconstruction Problems and Lack of Accountability
• Amount Iraqi government says is needed over the next 4 years to rebuild country’s infrastructure: $100
billion [Reuters, 10/31/06]
• Amount of Iraqi reconstruction funds unaccounted for by the Coalition Provisional Authority: $8.8 billion
[Boston Globe, 4/6/06]
• Tons of cash shipped to Iraq in December 2003 and June 2004 under the authority of the U.S.-led
Coalition Provisional Authority: 363 [Reuters, 2/12/07]
• Amount of the $11.8 million worth of U.S.-financed electrical generators at Baghdad airport that are no
longer working: $8.6 million [NYT, 4/29/07]
• Number of hours per day of electricity in Baghdad prior to the war: 16-24 [Brookings Institution, 6/7/07]
• Number of hours per day of electricity in Baghdad, May 2007: 5.6 [Brookings Institution, 6/7/07]
• Oil production – barrels per day – prior to the war: 2.5 million [Brookings Institution, 6/7/07]
• Oil production – barrels per day – June 2007: 2.06 million [Brookings Institution, 6/7/07]
• Unemployment rate in Iraq May 2007: estimates range from 25% to 40% [Brookings Institution, 6/7/07]
• Average rate of inflation in Iraq in 2006: 50% [DoD, 3/07]
• Amount the U.S. has allocated to private contractors for reconstruction and rebuilding efforts in Iraq since
the beginning of the war. $50 billion [60 Minutes, 2/12/06]
• Amount of taxpayer dollars squandered by the government in reconstruction contracts according to U.S.
auditors: $10 billion [CNN, 2/15/07]
• Amount of taxpayer money spent by Halliburton that the Defense Contract Audit Agency has deemed
either excessive or insufficiently documented: $1.47 billion [Boston Globe, 6/28/05]
• White House office that helped facilitate a no-bid Iraq reconstruction contract worth $7 billion to
Halliburton: Vice President Cheney [GAO, June 2004]
• Amount Halliburton has received in “cost plus” contracts for Iraq reconstruction: $25.7 billion [House
Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Democratic Staff, 3/07]
• Amount the “virtual pandemic” of corruption costs Iraq each year according to the Special Inspector
General of Iraq Reconstruction: more than $5 billion [Associated Press, 4/30/07]
• Number of weapons bought by the U.S. intended for Iraqi troops that are now missing: 14,030 [SIGIR, 10/29/06]
Terrorism & Weapons of Mass Destruction
• Days since 9/11 attacks that Osama bin Laden has remained free: 2,101 [6/12/07]
• Estimated minimum number of nuclear weapons likely produced by North Korea during the Bush
Administration: 7 [Reuters, 10/26/06]
• Estimated number of centrifuges in Iran’s main nuclear facility producing reactor-grade uranium: 1,300
[New York Times, 5/14/07]
• Percent decrease in funding for the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program to contain loose nuclear
material under the President’s Fiscal Year 2008 budget from 2006: 23 [Armed Forces Journal, 5/07]
Public Opinion
• Percent of Americans who think the country is off on the wrong track: 75 [AP/IPSOS, 6/8/07]
• Percent of Americans who say the war in Iraq is going badly: 76 [New York Times/CBS Poll, 5/24/07]
• Percent of Americans who think the Bush Administration is not meeting the needs of Iraq war veterans
here at home: 70% [WNBC/Marist College, 5/25/07]