Category Archives: Iraq

I’m Part of the Majority

TPM Cafe, New Poll: Solid Majority Wants Congress To Send Bush Another Bill With Timetables,

Fifty four percent of Americans oppose President Bush's veto of Congress' Iraq withdrawal bill, and a solid majority wants Congress to send Bush another Iraq bill containing withdrawal timetables

I am part of the majority. Why is it so silent?

Silent or not, I do think that the electorate will take its revenge at 2008. Bush is making Hoover look good. And Hoover defined his party for over a generation. We'll get the enablers.

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Basic Lessons in Democracy

Of the TV blowhards, Chris Matthews seems to be the one most likely to have reality-based moments. See him have a good one at the expense of a pro-war Iraqi vet sent out to repeat GOP spin points about not letting Congress micro-manage the war:

“…democracy: Politicians run countries. You got a problem with that?”

Well, yes, some Leo Straussian right-wing types do have a problem with that.

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A Grim Prognosis for Iraq

Juan Cole has an anonymous guest commentator, described as “a canny Vietnam veteran” who has a grim prognosis for Iraq. Not pleasant reading. If even half of these thing are right…

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Do The Numbers

Some statistics from Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office:

Number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq as of May 1, 2003: 139 [DoD, 5/1/07]

Number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq: 3,351 [DoD, 5/1/07]

Number of U.S. troops wounded in action in Iraq: 25,090 [DoD, 5/1/07]

Number of wounded in action and unable to return to duty: 11,215 [DoD, 5/1/07]

Number of troops killed so far this month (April): 104 [icasualties.org, 4/30/07] 

Number of troops killed in December 2006: 112 – the highest since November 2004 [icasualties.org, 4/30/07]

Percent of U.S. troops killed by Improvised Explosive Devices in March 2007: nearly 60 [Brookings Institution, 4/26/07]

Number of insurgents in Iraq in November 2003: 5,000 [Brookings Institution, 4/26/07]

Number of insurgents in Iraq in March 2007: 70,000 (Sunni only) [Brookings Institution, 4/26/07]

Number of multi-fatality bombings in May 2004: 9 [Brookings Institution, 4/26/07]

Number of multi-family bombings so far this month (April): 41 [Brookings Institution, 4/26/07]

Estimated number of people killed by multiple fatality bombings since May 2003: 12,108 [Brookings Institution, 4/26/07]

Number of civilian casualties in Iraq since U.S.-led invasion: estimates range from 54,000 – 76,500 [Brookings Institution, 4/26/07]
 
Average number of daily attacks by insurgents in July 2003: 16 [Brookings Institution, 4/26/07]

Average number of daily attacks by insurgents between November 2006 and February 2007: 149 [Brookings Institution, 4/26/07]

Cost of the War to American Taxpayers

“The annual cost of the Iraq war has more than doubled between 2003 and 2006, according to a new U.S. government report. With 20,000 more troops being prepared to go to Iraq, the costs will rise even more.”
“Annual Iraq war cost has doubled since '03,” UPI, 1/10/07

Amount appropriated for the Iraq War so far: $379 billion [House Appropriations Committee]

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 FY 2007 supplemental of $93 billion and a FY 2008 supplemental of $142 billion) [Bush budget]

Strain on the Military

“The thousands of troops that President Bush is expected to order to Iraq will join the fight largely without the protection of the latest armored vehicles that withstand bomb blasts far better than the Humvees in wide use, military officers said.”
“Better armor lacking for new troops in Iraq,” Baltimore Sun, 1/10/07

Number of U.S. troops currently in Iraq (approximate): 146,000 [Brookings Institution, 4/26/07]

Projected number of U.S. troops in Iraq when the “surge” is completed (by summer 2007): 160,000 [Palm Beach Post, 4/16/07]

Number of soldiers in the Army that have served more than one tour in Iraq: 170,000 [Christian Science Monitor, 1/9/07]

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]

Number of active duty or reserve brigades in the U.S. considered “combat ready”: 0 [Christian Science Monitor, 9/22/06]

Number of active duty military who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001: 1.1 million [DoD, 3/31/07]

Number of National Guard and Reservists who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001: 421,981 [DoD, 3/31/07] 

Number of National Guard and Reservists deployed more than once since 2001: 84,198 [DoD, 8/31/06]

Percent of troops currently deployed who are in the National Guard and Reserves: 22 [DoD, 3/31/07]

Number of months longer Army troops in Iraq will have to serve as a result of a blanket tour extension order issued by the Pentagon: at least 3 months [Pentagon News Briefing, 4/11/07] 

Length of average mobilization for Reserve and National Guard members: 18 months [Washington Post, 11/5/06] 

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

“A recent Defense inspector general investigation into interagency purchases placed through the Treasury Department's FedSource program uncovered major problems, including inadequate competition. Every award examined by the IG was flawed. Other problems included missing contracting agreements, insufficient price documentation and a lack of market research. Defense auditors also identified 21 potential violations of the Anti-Deficiency Act, which bars spending in excess of available resources.”
“Defense IG finds major flaws in contracts issued via Treasury,” National Journal, 1/3/07

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, 4/26/07]

Number of hours per day of electricity in Baghdad, April 2007: 5.8 [Brookings Institution, 4/26/07]

Oil production – barrels per day – prior to the war: 2.5 million [Brookings Institution, 4/26/07]

Oil production – barrels per day – April 2007: 2.1 million [Brookings Institution, 4/26/07]

Unemployment rate in Iraq (December 2006): estimates range from 25% to 40% [Brookings Institution, 4/26/07]

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]

Public Opinion

“Only 12% of Americans back a troop increase, compared with 52% who prefer a timetable for withdrawal, a recent Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll found.”
“Democrats will soon get a say on Iraq,” Los Angeles Times, 12/27/06

Percent of Americans who are disapprove of the way President Bush is handling the situation in Iraq: 66% [Wall Street Journal/NBC, 4/25/07]

Percent of Americans who favor setting a timetable that provides for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq in 2008:  64% [CBS News/New York Times, 4/26/07] 

Percent of Americans who believe that Congress, not the President, should have the last say when it comes to setting troop levels in Iraq:  57% [CBS News/New York Times, 4/26/07]

Terrorism & Weapons of Mass Destruction

“A stark assessment of terrorism trends by American intelligence agencies has found that the American invasion and occupation of Iraq has helped spawn a new generation of Islamic radicalism and that the overall terrorist threat has grown since the Sept. 11 attacks.”
“Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Worsens Terrorism Threat,” New York Times, 9/24/06

Days since 9/11 attacks that Osama bin Laden has remained free: 2,058 [4/30/07]

Estimated minimum number of nuclear weapons likely produced by North Korea during the Bush Administration: 7 [Reuters, 10/26/06]

Percent decrease in funding for the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program to contain loose nuclear material under the President’s Fiscal Year 2007 budget: 10.4 [Center for American Progress, 5/3/06]

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Tell Me Again About the ‘Good News’ from Iraq

One of the more tiresome talking points from the administration and its fellow travelers is that the (so-called) liberal media just doesn't report enough of the good news from Iraq. You know, all the great new schools and hospitals. The electricity that now works four hours a day. And so on.

Well someone went out and looked at some of the so-called good news (the parts in the areas where it isn't suicidal to go look) and found that the news wasn't all that good in many cases: Rebuilt Iraq Projects Found Crumbling.

Failing to build in mechanisms for maintenance is one of the most common errors in development assistance. And here, as in everything else to do with Iraq, this administration has not only failed to learn from experience, it has demonstrated a total lack of interest in it.

Yes, more money down the rat hole. And remember that we're borrowing to pay for all this while giving the richest 1% of the population big tax cuts. These deferred taxes mean that my kids will be stuck with the bill.

For an equally depressing example of administration cluelessness and financial waste that hurt people — in this case the victims in New Orleans, see this exposé of how the U.S. failed to utilize foreign assistance for Katrina — in some cases turning it down, in others just letting it rot.

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What’s Doing (Reptiles Dept.)

I just want to thank all the people who have kept the comments lively at The Buck Doesn't Even Stop By For Visits while I've been somewhat distracted by work.

If I know what's good for me, blogging will be light for the next few days — I have to write an exam and do major surgery to a paper.

The world certainly is doing its best, however, to be very distracting.

For one thing, there's a good-sized scaly toothed reptile back in the campus lake. I saw about seven eights of it, but not the snout which it had lodged under something at the bank of the lake, so I don't know if it's a gator or a croc, but I'd guess gator. The whatever-it-was had beached the front of its face, nose first, only 100 feet or so from the Rathskeller where students were happily boozing it up on a Friday afternoon, but there was a campus cop keeping the passing students from getting too close. He didn't seem to be enjoying the job, and gave a rather grim smile when I observed that the gator had a police escort.

Previous posts on our toothy friends include Crocodile Reminder, Crocodile Coincidence, What? A Croc?, Croc II !, Cold Front Flushes Out UM Croc, Fair Warning (Alligator Dept.), Who Gets Custody of the Alligator ? and of course Exam Question: Is an Alligator a Deadly Weapon?. It's not an obsession, really, just a fact of life.

Speaking of reptiles, the DoJ has done another Friday evening document dump.

Speaking of sinking your teeth into things, or maybe it's man-bites-dog, don't miss Army Officer Accuses Generals of 'Intellectual and Moral Failures' an amazing article about a Lt. Col. attacking his superiors (generically, not by name) in a prestigious army journal for incompetence and dishonesty in their prosecution of the Iraq war and for misleading Congress about it.

“After going into Iraq with too few troops and no coherent plan for postwar stabilization, America's general officer corps did not accurately portray the intensity of the insurgency to the American public,” he writes. “For reasons that are not yet clear, America's general officer corps underestimated the strength of the enemy, overestimated the capabilities of Iraq's government and security forces and failed to provide Congress with an accurate assessment of security conditions in Iraq.”

Yingling said he decided to write the article after attending Purple Heart and deployment ceremonies for Army soldiers. “I find it hard to look them in the eye,” he said in an interview. “Our generals are not worthy of their soldiers.”

Next to last, but not least, the Bush administration war on the rule of law continues apace with its latest attempt to make it impossible for lawyers to provide meaningful or effective representation for Guantanamo detainees. I would write about this but words fail me to describe the petty viciousness of this idea and the manifest hostility to the very due process that I would have thought was one of the great achievements of our civilization. The NYT has an editorial which says part of what needs saying; some more of it is found in this Conversation with Gitmo Lawyer on Proposed DOJ Rules. Don't look to the Supreme Court to do anything fast — in tangentially related cases, it's not rushing the process, which is Shakespearian in its delay:

“For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,”

Meanwhile, only the willful blindness of one or two men (Bush, Chaney, take your pick), ensures that the US Army will continue to bleed itself dry in Iraq, to no visible benefit to anyone outside the White House. I understand that our departure could lead to horrors — and think we have a duty to mitigate them, especially be admitting a very large number of refugees here in order to protect all the people who have helped us. If there were a plausible scenario by which staying on would allow us to enact the 'Pottery Barn rule' (you broke it, you pay for it), I could support that. But the occupation is as big a failure as the initial military campaign was a success. No one arguing for staying on has a winning strategy that they can articulate other than “retreat is not an option”.

I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.

— Thomas Jefferson

Posted in Guantanamo, Iraq, Politics: US: GW Bush Scandals, U.Miami | 1 Comment