[Vision2020] The cost of the Iraq War

[Donovan Arnold]

>1.  Horror's index: The cost of the Iraq war
>
>987: Number of coalition forces killed between March 19, 2003, and July 5,
>2004
>693: Number killed after President Bush declared the end of official combat
>operations on May 1, 2003
>9,436: Minimum estimate of the number of Iraq civilians killed as a result
>of the U.S. invasion and occupation
>40,000: Estimated number of Iraqis injured
>14: Average number of violent deaths per month in Iraq in 2002
>357: Average number of violent deaths per month in Iraq in 2003
>30: Percentage of Iraqis unemployed before the war
>60: Percentage of Iraqis unemployed in the summer of 2003
>$151,000,000,000: Amount spent on the war through the end of this year,
>pending Congressional approval
>$3,415: Monetary cost of war per U.S. household, on average
>54: Percentage of Americans polled who felt that "the situation in Iraq was
>not worth going to war over" (Annenberg Election Survey)
>52: Percentage of soldiers who reported low morale, according to a March
>2004 army survey
>28.2: Percentage of soldiers in Iraq who screened positive for traumatic
>stress, anxiety, or depression
>34: Number of detainee deaths as a result of interrogation methods 
>currently
>under investigation by the U.S. military
>20,000: Number of private contractors performing traditionally military 
>jobs
>in Iraq
>1: Percentage of Iraqi workers involved in reconstruction projects
>$160,000,000: Amount spent by major contractor Halliburton on meals that
>were never served to troops
>82,000,000,000: Number of U.S. children who could have received health care
>coverage with the funds allocated to the war by the Bush administration
>
>Sources: Foreign Policy in Focus, The Wall Street Journal.
>
>
>2.  And from the Idaho Peace Coalition in Boise, a letter from a member of
>the Idaho
>National Guard:
>
>Idaho Peace Coalition
>
>
>  My name is xxxxxxxxxxxxx and I am an Sergeant currently deployed to
>Kuwait. I have been reading the news from home and following your
>actions in Boise for sometime. I have seen how you have conducted
>yourselves and seen what you are doing in the community. Some of the
>views your organization hold I do not agree with but I respect your
>right to express them. Recently I have read some of your views and
>opinions on Iraq and I think you should be informed on what I see.
>  About a week ago I ran into some Marines they were dirty and all of
>them had bandages on various parts of their bodies. I asked one of them
>what happened and they said that they had been ambushed and a few of
>their friends had been killed. In the movies and media you hear about
>the 1000 yard stare. This was beyond that. They had the look of those
>who do not care if they live or die. This was the kind of hopelessness
>that I see on all the faces of Army and Marines that come through our
>base. Some faces we see go don't ever come back as passengers but as a
>6ft box cargo. When you see the faces of women and men come through like
>this over and over again you begin to ask why. After much thinking about
>it I have discovered that the reason I'm here is for no reason. No
>reasonable person would sent other people to fight in such a pointless
>war. This war is false. Please tell me that the people back home have
>seen this truth. One cannot watch over and over again the senseless
>slaughter of so many people. I question what good is there in such a
>mighty nation as ours slaughtering poor people for no reason. The
>president asks the question, "isn't the world better off without
>Saddam?" My answer is no sir it is not. I have not seen one WMD I have
>not seen one American killed by Iraqis before this war started. To top
>this off our president lied to us by inferring that Saddam was
>responsible for Sept 11. Saddam was and is an evil man but he was
>controllable under the UN. The only conclusion I can come up with is
>that we, the military, are being used for hire. Hire to the highest
>bidding oil company. Our blood is the currency used to purchase oil from
>the fields of Iraq. How much more will the American public stand for?
>How much death will be shoved down the mouth of the American public
>before they are sickened by the taste of slaughter?
>  I have been extremely disappointed with the irrational reasons we in
>the military have placed in harms way. I would die to protect the
>liberty of people who cannot protect themselves but I feel each day I am
>moving closer to those from who people need protection. So I guess I am
>saying please keep up what you are doing. Continue to speak out and
>oppose this war. I've seen a bumper sticker that said, "Support the
>troops." The best support you can give me is to oppose this immoral
>action. Thank you for your integrity and your refusal to remain silent.
>Please share this with your group and pass on my best regards.
>
>SSgt xxxxxxxxxxxx
>United States Air National Guard
>Ali Al-Salem
>

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