5th Anniversary of the Iraq War

The Cost to Our Forces in Iraq

• 3,990: American troops who have died in Iraq since the start of the war. 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 2,100: Number of troops who tried to commit suicide or injure themselves increased from 350 in 2002 to 2,100 last year.
• 11.9: Percent of noncommissioned Army officers who reported mental health problems during their first Iraq tour
• 27.2: Percent of noncommissioned Army officers who reported mental health problems during their third or fourth Iraq tour
  

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"
• 79: Percent of Army recruits who had high school diplomas in Fiscal Year 2007
• 4,644: Number of new Army recruits who were granted moral waivers in Fiscal Year 2003.
• 12,057: Number of new Army recruits who were granted moral waivers in Fiscal Year 2007.
• 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

The Cost to Our National Security

• 1,188: Number of global terrorist incidents from January - September 11th, 2001.
• 5,188: Number of global terrorist incidents in from January- September 11th, 2006.
• 30: Percent increase in violence in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2007.
• 21: Number of suicide bombings in Afghanistan in 2001.
• 139: Number of suicide bombings in Afghanistan in 2006, with an additional increase of 69 percent as of November 2007.
• 30: Percent of Afghanistan controlled by the Afghan Government according to DNI Mike McConnell.
• 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.
• $12 Billion: Direct cost per month of the Iraq War. $526 Billion: Amount of money already appropriated by Congress for the War in Iraq.
• $3 Trillion: Total estimated cost of the Iraq War.
• $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.
• 160: Percent that the cost of the Iraq War has increased from 2004 to 2008
  

The Cost to Iraqis and Journalists

• 8,000: Number of Iraqi military and police killed since June 2003.
• 82,000-89,000: Estimate of Iraqi civilians casualties from violence since the beginning of the Iraq War.
• 4.5 Million: Number of Iraqi refugees both inside and outside the country.
• 61: Percent of Iraqis that believe the U.S. military presence makes the security situation in Iraq worse.
• 127: Number of journalists killed in Iraq since March 2003.
  

Economic Costs of War in Iraq

• $33.51: Cost of a barrel of oil in March 2003.
• $105.68: Cost of a barrel of oil on March 17, 2008.
  

U.S. Troops and Contractors in Iraq

• 132,000: Number of U.S. troops in Iraq in January 2007, before President Bush's escalation.
• 155,000: Number of U.S. troops currently in Iraq
• 140,000: Number of U.S. troops projected to be in Iraq in July 2008.
• 35,000: Number of private security contractors operating in Iraq.
• 180,000: Number of private contractors operating in Iraq.
  

Progress Towards Political Reconciliation Made By Iraqis

• 3: Number out of 18 Bush Administration Benchmarks Met by Iraqi Government As of January 24, 2008.
• 18: Number of provinces President Bush said would be secured by Iraqis as of November 2007.
• 8: Number of provinces actually secured by Iraqis as of January 2008.
  

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.