Foreign Policy in Focus and the Institute for Policy Studies have jointly released a new fact sheet detailing the costs of the Iraq War in terms of human lives, money, and misplaced priorities. The easy-to-reproduce fact sheet highlights the following–all of which are important to keep in mind as the United States’ occupation enters its fifth year:
“U.S. military killed in Iraq: 3,973
Number of U.S. troops wounded in combat since the war began: 29,203
Iraqi Security Force deaths: 7,924
Iraqi civilians killed: Estimates range from 81,632-1,120,000
Internally displaced refugees in Iraq: 3.4 million
Iraqi refugees living abroad: 2.2-2.4 million
Iraqi refugees admitted to the U.S.: 3,222
Number of U.S. soldiers in Iraq: 155,000
Number of "Coalition of the Willing" soldiers in Iraq:
February 2008: 9,895
September 2006: 18,000
November 2004: 25,595
Army soldiers in Iraq who have served two or more tours: 74%
Number of Private Military Contractors in Iraq: 180,000
Number of Private Military Contractors criminally prosecuted by the U.S. government for violence or abuse in Iraq: 1
Number of contract workers killed: 917
What the Iraq war has created, according to the U.S. National Intelligence Council: "A training and recruitment ground (for terrorists), and an opportunity for terrorists to enhance their technical skills."
Effect on al Qaeda of the Iraq War, according to International Institute for Strategic Studies: "Accelerated recruitment"
The bill so far: $526 billion
Cost per day: $275 million
Cost per household: $4,100
The estimated long-term bill: $3 trillion
What $526 billion could have paid for in the U.S. in one year:
Children with health care: 223 million or
Scholarships for university students: 86 million or
Head Start places for children: 72 million
Cost of 22 days in Iraq could safeguard our nation’s ports from attack for ten years.
Cost of 18 hours in Iraq could secure U.S. chemical plants for five years.
Iraqi Unemployment level: 25-40%
*U.S. unemployment during the Great Depression: 25%
70% of the Iraqi population is without access to clean water.
80% is without sanitation.
90% of Iraq’s 180 hospitals lack basic medical and surgical supplies.
79% of Iraqis oppose the presence of Coalition Forces.
78% of Iraqis believe things are going badly in Iraq overall.
64% of Americans oppose the war in Iraq.
What the "Declaration of Principles" has set according to Defense Secretary Robert Gates:
"A mutually agreed arrangement whereby we have a long and enduring presence."”
It is also to important to remember that the war has had an impact at the state and local level. The Iraq War has cost Michigan an estimated $13.9 billion. It has cost Grand Rapids–West Michigan’s largest city–an estimated $273.6 billion. That number is large enough that the Grand Rapids City Commission, after being prodded by antiwar activists, passed a resolution last fall against the war that in part highlighted how the cost of the war has taken away from money that could be spent elsewhere.
But, what does this really mean? According to the National Priorities Project, the $273.6 million spent on the war by Grand Rapids taxpayers could have provided the following for residents of Grand Rapids:
* 102,866 People with Health Care OR
* 384,510 Homes with Renewable Electricity OR
* 5,678 Public Safety Officers OR
* 4,952 Music and Arts Teachers OR
* 28,135 Scholarships for University Students OR
* 25 New Elementary Schools OR
* 2,205 Affordable Housing Units OR
* 204,574 Children with Health Care OR
* 41,358 Head Start Places for Children OR
* 3,865 Elementary School Teachers
The $13.9 billion spent on the war by Michigan taxpayers could have provided:
* 5,220,282 People with Health Care OR
* 19,513,221 Homes with Renewable Electricity OR
* 288,124 Public Safety Officers OR
* 251,294 Music and Arts Teachers OR
* 1,427,804 Scholarships for University Students OR
* 1,262 New Elementary Schools OR
* 111,921 Affordable Housing Units OR
* 10,381,778 Children with Health Care OR
* 2,098,861 Head Start Places for Children OR
* 196,136 Elementary School Teachers
Additionally, the Iraq War has cost the lives of 148 soldiers from Michigan.
Related posts:
- New Numbers Show Cost of Iraq War to Michigan, Grand Rapids
- New Numbers on the Cost of Iraq War for Michigan
- Nobel Prize-Winning Economists Estimates Iraq War Costs will Reach more than $1 Trillion
- Iraq War has Cost Grand Rapids $343.5 Million
- New Iraq Spending Request would Cost Michigan Additional $4.1 Billion, Grand Rapids $81.4 Million
Does anyone know if there’s been a forward projection as to what an attack on IRAN would cost us??