Portion of the $20 billion paid to KBR that Pentagon auditors deem "questionable or supportable" - $3.2 billion
U.S. 2009 Monthly Spending in Iraq - $7.3 billion as of Oct 2009
U.S. 2008 Monthly Spending in Iraq - $12 billion
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
Troops in Iraq - Total 49,700 U.S. troops as of August 23, 2010. All other nations have withdrawn their troops.
U.S. Troop Casualties - 4,427 US troops; 98% male. 91% non-officers; 82% active duty, 11% National Guard; 74% Caucasian, 9% African-American, 11% Latino. 19% killed by non-hostile causes. 54% of US casualties were under 25 years old. 72% were from the US Army
Non-U.S. Troop Casualties - Total 316, with 179 from the UK
S Troops Wounded - 31,929, 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 - 75 total, at least 36 by enemy fire
Journalists killed - 143, 96 by murder and 47 by acts of war
Journalists killed by US Forces - 14
Iraqi Police and Soldiers Killed - 9,721
Iraqi Civilians Killed, Estimated - On October 22, 2010, ABC News reported "a secret U.S. government tally that puts the Iraqi (civilian) death toll over 100,000," information that was included in more than 400,000 military documents released by Wikileaks.com.
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 - 572
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
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%
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%
A horrible truth that should never of happened. im not surprised by some of the facts the have been shown where i am saddened to find that those facts are true. if only i was found wrong about it.
Who will be penalised for the this evidence? no one. maybe a slap on the wrist and then they will carry on. These are facts from awhile back. i wonder what may be happening now.
I was in Basra working in a military hospital in March 2003. None of this is a surprise to me.
his is why millions protested. It was always going to turn out like this with the way the Americans Hawks were rushing in. Tony Blair, shame on you for joing them. You deserve to go to the Hague and answer to the civilised world for your actions.
So in short........
The people of Iraq would have been better off if Saddam Hussein was still in charge. That's a measure of how low Bush and Blair have fallen in the public eye. They rank behind an evil old dictator.Still, at least all the weapons of mass destruction are gone, right?
This is sad, but not surprising. War never changes, after all.
The question is what difference will it make to the behaviour of the US and the UK that diminishing the threat of international terrorism and promoting democracy in Iraq are revealed (once again) as a sham? Will the fact that economic imperialism as the real reason for the war make any difference? Will anyone be held truly accountable? Don't hold your breath...
If people knew the true horror of war, they would never have advocated subjecting hundreds of thousands of innocent people to it's chaotic devastation.
Make me even prouder that I was on the marches objecting to what we knew was going to happen. We didn't trust Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld et al then, and the leak of all the documents and videos this year justify our position.
They only ever wanted war, the only wanted to destroy a whole infrastructure and they had no exit strategy. Useful that it lined their own pockets with their military-based investments and directorships. And Blair went along with it. Disgraceful.
It's important these leaks are made because if it can stop/hinder another dreadful war being perpetrated by the Hawks of Capitol Hill, then it's all worth it.
hese released logs are even more controversial than the Pentagon Papers of 1971 which underlie the years of lies and war unleashed by first JFK then LBJ and his war hawks in 1963. I was a Vietnam war protestor in San Diego after I served over 5 yrs active duty in the army including 30 months in W. Germany in the early 60s. Had I not washed out of flight school in late '64 the odds are I would have served in Vietnam as a chopper pilot which suffered heavy casualties. Our protesting was not against the trigger pullers, but vs the military brass and the civilian chicken hawks, some of whom were never in the military. San Diego did not have the raging protests as in the East and elsewhere but SD State and UCSD had numerous events.... War is cruelty, it is Hell and it cannot be refined as Gen Wm Sherman stated at West Point in 1881. Our mission in AFPAK will end up in a disaster, I fear....Iraq? Our embassy is larger than the Vatican--we are there to stay, somehow.
This is a war that would never have happened without the Tories full support.
Thank god modern civilizations including Brazil, China and India are entering the world stage. They will definitely make this a safer place, and limit the future damage done by bankster states such as US , UK etc
They are only bashing on Iran and North Korea to deviate attention from their own atrocities done in the name of democracy and free markets...
all bullshit... by now everyone knows
Those two vile murderers and liars Bush and Blair must stand trial for this. Ashamed to be British and ashamed that I did not do more to stop this happening. My deepest apologies to the people of Iraq for the crimes we the people of Britain have perpetrated against them.
I'm an American and just searched our main media outlets for an article even remotely like this. Nothing. New York Times can't refer to the Iraq War and is only referring to Afghanistan War because if they were to reference this blatant murdering spree that caused half the country to go into bankruptcy it would undermine the cleanup duty the Obama administration is stuck with.
The fact that he finally took troops out of Iraq after all this time is still appalling too. What the hell is wrong with the US? When will Bush and Tony Blair be banished? Never or will it be like the Natzi's, 50 years after the fact?
I am a Vietnam vet. How quickly we forget the true nature of war. We all know that when a war is started, by anyone, innocent people get killed -- women, chldren, the aged as well as the youth of a nation. What is also a casualty of war is the "heart" of a nation. The people of a nation that goes to war are forever changed. The USA has been a nation of war since we first fought for our freedom from the king of England.
If you do not want innocents to be killed, don't go to war. War should be a last resort for the solution of any issue. When it is decided to go to war understand that mankind does to each other the worst of horrors known to the human race. Too many different personalities carrying powerful weapons of mass destruction etc. 100,000+ troops spread out all over creation -- war on two fronts -- how can a people expect anyone to have the ability to control every situation. If anyone thinks that any nation at war is motivated by pure intentions and can carry it out with all purity -- they are naive.
War is hell -- for sure. I know, I've been there and back.
What does everyone think war is?
A party?
Of course this sort of thing was bound to happen. Torture, rape, death, horror, power over the defenceless, victimisation of the weak, lies, brutality, revenge.
That is war - not a meeting between the Health and Safety Executive, the Risk Assessment Dept. and Fairy Cake Decoration Unit.
Women should be in charge. There would be no wars. The mothers would say no.
How much money did the UK waste on killing people? Now the poor here are faced with paying the price for the hubris and greed of the financial system. Why should they have to pay for it? All these things are connected and illustrate beyond doubt that the entire system is rotten and needs changing. If the world continues like this there will be more wars, more fear and more suffering. It is ultimately the greed of rich who control this world who create the problems and here in UK this week we have seen their vicious and heartless remedies when things go wrong. One thing is certain: This system will always continue to go wrong, and those who run the system will always try to avoid responsibility for that fact.
The amazing thing is the majority of Americans are oblivious to all the human rights abuses that were commited in Iraq and oblivious to the barbaric behaviour of their nation. Ohhhhh noooo, they can do no wrong!!!
Its hilarious. Americans will discuss and be exposed ad nauseum to people like Palin or the inane Tea Party, but this crucial narrative on Iraq, would simply pass them by. And they wonder why we, me especially, regard them to be bonkers, thick and ill informed.
60,000+ civilian deaths (probably hundreds of thousands in total) so that 'democracy should be brought to the Middle East'.
Grounds provided to Parliament for invasion: false and proven incorrect
The UN process to clarify that falsehood: rejected, against the will of the international community
Bush regime ideology: shock and awe in line with the 'Program for a New American Century'
% of UK public who opposed invasion without a 2nd UN mandate: 80%
Yet democracy (the later justification for war) was ignored. Democracy is still compromised by this demonstrated military culture that resists transparency. Democracy needs press freedom, judicial fairness and accountability, and transparency.
Democracy is not just a one-off vote. It is a culture, an accountability, an openness, a protection of the innocent. It is the freedom of the press to uncover hidden injustices. It should also be legality.
Was this war legal?
Were the actions without a 2nd UN mandate legal?
Was Abu Ghraib legal? Would we ever have been told about it, if it hadn't come to light? Or the rape and murder at Haditha?
Was the aerial bombing from great height a disproportionate action endangering the Iraqi civilian population? Would we ever have countenanced it against our own UK or US civilian populations?
Was the suppression of information like this legal?
Was the UK or US government aware of some of this information, and if it suppressed it, and acquiesced in its implications and violations, was it acting illegally its roles and responsibilities as an occupying force with responsibilities towards the civilian population?
Who killed the innocent civilian Mousa? Which UK soldier did that? Why wasn't he prosecuted? Why did colleagues collude in a cover up?
Is the MOD properly accountable or does it collude with the hiding of relevant information that should be part of accountability in a democracy? Why was it alright for the MOD/British Aerospace to be engaged in weapons deals with Saudi princes, which involved illegal bribes, when the Saudi regime is non-democratic and has a bad human rights record?
What I'm really saying is: first Tony Blair said imminent attack from weapons of mass destruction was the reason for ignoring the UN processes already in place. Then, when this claim was shown to be doctored and false, the argument shifted to 'bringing democracy to Iraq' (as if Saudi Arabia and countless other trading partners couldn't be invaded on that pretext as well...).
But, the democratic majority of the UK opposed the invasion without the legality of a 2nd UN mandate. Democracy also involves, legality, openness, transparency, accountability.
Countless known crimes in this terrible history of events have gone unaddressed and uncared for. People's intimate family lives have been shattered.
Perhaps the greatest crime that has gone unaddressed was the decision - against international opinion and against our own nation's democratic opinion - to invade Iraq and unleash chaos.
The Iraq War was a disaster and it did *nothing* for the 'war on terror', motivating new martyrs, and totally losing the battle for 'hearts and minds'.
So I am wholly under-impressed by people who try to portray journalistic truths being brought to light... as if *they* are the ones in the wrong.
Our culture is way too militaristic. Our soldiers - like *all* soldiers of courage, including Iraqi soldiers - deserve recognition for individual courage in an invidious situation. But was it worth the 60,000 dead mothers, children, sisters, grandparents, innocent people? Was it worth our own dead soldiers?
And how many more British soldiers will die in Afghanistan before we pull out, which the politicians know we must, yet they fear the losing face, and so other soldiers will die needlessly I fear. Indeed it's a weekly death count. As is the continuing civilian death toll there, when innocent people get strafed at weddings, or just wiped out by drones, and so the killing (and on the evidence of the past) the cover up goes on.
If we devoted a fraction of the money we spend on militarism to education, health, and help for those in need, of any faith or creed... perhaps we might start winning hearts, and demonstrating democracy. Perhaps we'd stop the hypocrisy of invading countries in the name of democracy while remaining trading partners and colluders in regimes that are non-democratic and oppressive.
If Wikileaks contributes in some way to greater accountability in the future, then maybe politicians will take the responsibilities of war and its (in this case unplanned) aftermath more seriously.
But surely, we live in a democracy because we vote once every 5 years? If the people we vote for then go against the clear democratic will, and worse still, if they should ever break international law in going to war... then what exactly are we exporting (apart from more arms) to the countries we claim to democratize?
Facts: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11095920
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