Iraq War Statistics – 2008

Jun 25 2008 For your quick reading, I’ve listed key statistics about the Iraq War, taken primarily from data analyzed by various think tanks, including The Brookings Institution’s Iraq Index, and from mainstream media sources. Data is presented as of June 15, 2008, except as indicated.

U.S. SPENDING IN IRAQ

• Spent & Approved War-Spending – About $600 billion of US taxpayers’ funds. President Bush has requested about $200 billion more for 2008, which would bring the cumulative total to close to $800 billion.
• U.S. Monthly Spending in Iraq – $12 billion in 2008
• U.S. Spending per Second – $5,000 in 2008 (per Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on May 5, 2008 )
• Cost of deploying one U.S. soldier for one year in Iraq – $390,000 (Congressional Research Service)
• Lost & Unaccounted for in Iraq – $9 billion of US taxpayers’ money and $549.7 milion in spare parts shipped in 2004 to US contractors. Also, per ABC News, 190,000 guns, including 110,000 AK-47 rifles.
• Missing – $1 billion in tractor trailers, tank recovery vehicles, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and other equipment and services provided to the Iraqi security forces. (Per CBS News on Dec 6, 2007.)
• Mismanaged & Wasted in Iraq – $10 billion, per Feb 2007 Congressional hearings
• Halliburton Overcharges Classified by the Pentagon as Unreasonable and Unsupported – $1.4 billion
• Amount paid to KBR, a former Halliburton division, to supply U.S. military in Iraq with food, fuel, housing and other items – $20 billion
• Portion of the $20 billion paid to KBR that Pentagon auditors deem “questionable or supportable” – $3.2 billion
• Number of major U.S. bases in Iraq – 75 (The Nation/New York Times)

TROOPS IN IRAQ

• Iraqi Troops Trained and Able to Function Independent of U.S. Forces – 6,000 as of May 2007 (per NBC’s “Meet the Press” on May 20, 2007)
• Troops in Iraq – Total 159,734, including 150,000 from the US, 4,000 from the UK, 2,000 from Georgia, 900 from Poland, 650 from South Korea and 2,184 from all other nations
• U.S. Troop Casualties – 4,099 US troops; 98% male. 90% non-officers; 80% active duty, 12% National Guard; 74% Caucasian, 10% African-American, 11% Latino. 18% killed by non-hostile causes. 51% of US casualties were under 25 years old. 70% were from the US Army
• Non-U.S. Troop Casualties – Total 312, with 176 from the UK
• US Troops Wounded – 30,209, 20% of which are serious brain or spinal injuries (total excludes psychological injuries)
• US Troops with Serious Mental Health Problems – 30% of US troops develop serious mental health problems within 3 to 4 months of returning home
• US Military Helicopters Downed in Iraq – 68 total, at least 36 by enemy fire

IRAQI TROOPS, CIVILIANS & OTHERS IN IRAQ

• Private Contractors in Iraq, Working in Support of US Army Troops – More than 180,000 in August 2007, per The Nation/LA Times.
• Journalists killed – 129, 85 by murder and 44 by acts of war
• Journalists killed by US Forces – 14
• Iraqi Police and Soldiers Killed – 8,374
• Iraqi Civilians Killed, Estimated – A UN issued report dated Sept 20, 2006 stating that Iraqi civilian casualties have been significantly under-reported. Casualties are reported at 50,000 to over 100,000, but may be much higher. Some informed estimates place Iraqi civilian casualities at over 600,000.
• Iraqi Insurgents Killed, Roughly Estimated – 55,000
• Non-Iraqi Contractors and Civilian Workers Killed – 552
• Non-Iraqi Kidnapped – 306, including 57 killed, 147 released, 4 escaped, 6 rescued and 89 status unknown.
• Daily Insurgent Attacks, Feb 2004 – 14
• Daily Insurgent Attacks, July 2005 – 70
• Daily Insurgent Attacks, May 2007 – 163
• Estimated Insurgency Strength, Nov 2003 – 15,000
• Estimated Insurgency Strength, Oct 2006 – 20,000 – 30,000
• Estimated Insurgency Strength, June 2007 – 70,000

QUALITY OF LIFE INDICATORS

• Iraqis Displaced Inside Iraq, by Iraq War, as of May 2007 – 2,255,000
• Iraqi Refugees in Syria & Jordan – 2.1 million to 2.25 million
• Iraqi Unemployment Rate – 27 to 60%, where curfew not in effect
• Consumer Price Inflation in 2006 – 50%
• Iraqi Children Suffering from Chronic Malnutrition – 28% in June 2007 (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)
• Percent of professionals who have left Iraq since 2003 – 40%
• Iraqi Physicians Before 2003 Invasion – 34,000
• Iraqi Physicians Who Have Left Iraq Since 2005 Invasion – 12,000
• Iraqi Physicians Murdered Since 2003 Invasion – 2,000
• Average Daily Hours Iraqi Homes Have Electricity – 1 to 2 hours, per Ryan Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq (Per Los Angeles Times, July 27, 2007)
• Average Daily Hours Iraqi Homes Have Electricity – 10.9 in May 2007
• Average Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity – 5.6 in May 2007
• Pre-War Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity – 16 to 24
• Number of Iraqi Homes Connected to Sewer Systems – 37%
• Iraqis without access to adequate water supplies – 70% (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)
• Water Treatment Plants Rehabilitated – 22%

RESULTS OF POLL Taken in Iraq in August 2005 by the British Ministry of Defense (Source: Brookings Institute)

• Iraqis “strongly opposed to presence of coalition troops – 82%
• Iraqis who believe Coalition forces are responsible for any improvement in security – less than 1%
• Iraqis who feel less ecure because of the occupation – 67%
• Iraqis who do not have confidence in multi-national forces – 72%

Ending the Iraq War

• Obama 101: Ending the Iraq War
• Barack Obama’s Stirring 2002 Speech Against Iraq War
• Who Voted NO on Iraq War in 2002?