June 25, 2007

The Iraq Accountability Project: This Week's Senate Oversight on Iraq

The American people demanded a change of course in Iraq, and the 110th Congress intends to press President Bush to provide it.  As President Bush and Senate Republicans continue to support a failed stay-the- course policy in Iraq, Senate Democrats are determined to hold the President accountable.

This Week in the Senate

Wednesday, June 27th

Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
Markup of pending legislation

Location:        Senate Dirksen Building Rm. 562, 9:30AM
Witnesses:      TBD

Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
Nomination of Charles L. Hopkins to be assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs for operations, preparedness, security and law enforcement.

Location:        Senate Dirksen Building Rm. 562, following markup
Witnesses:      The nominee will be present.

Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee
Violent Islamic Extremism: the European Experience

Location:        Senate Dirksen Building Rm. 342, 10:00AM
Witnesses:      TBD

Thursday, June 28th

Senate Appropriations Committee
Full committee markup of FY2008 State and Foreign Operations and related programs.

Location:        Senate Hart Building Rm. 216, 2:00PM
Witnesses:      TBA

This Week in Iraq

Iraq - Security
Approximate number of U.S. troops currently in Iraq:		160,000
Percent of coalition forces contributed by the U.S.:		93
Approximate amount appropriated by Congress for Iraq operations so far:		>$450 billion
Estimated total cost of operations in Iraq by war’s end:		$549 billion - $2.26 trillion
Approximate amount spent by the U.S. in World War I (in inflation-adjusted dollars):		$205 billion
Approximate amount the U.S. is spending in Iraq per month (including operational and investment costs):		$8.6 billion
Approximate amount the U.S. spent in Iraq per month in Fiscal Year 2003 (including operational and investment costs):		$4.4 billion
Number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq:		3,531
Number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq in April 2007:		104
Number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq in May 2007:		127
Number reported wounded by the Defense Department:		26,129
Number of National Guard soldiers killed in Iraq through June 2, 2007:		425
Number of National Guard soldiers killed in the entire Vietnam War:		97
Number of Iraqi military and police killed since training began in June 2003:		7,040
Number of journalists killed in Iraq:		106
Number of journalists killed in Vietnam:		63
Estimated number of insurgents in Iraq (November 2003):		5,000
Estimated strength of Sunni insurgency (including non-operational supporters):		70,000
Funds the insurgency in Iraq is now able to raise annually from illegal activities, including kidnappings and oil smuggling:		$70 - $200 million
Percent increase in terrorist incidents in Iraq between 2005 and 2006:		91 percent
Percent of Iraqis who approve of attacks on Coalition forces:		51 percent
Number of Iraqi police and security forces trained and equipped:		353,100
Rate of attrition for Iraqi police, according to the Pentagon:		30 percent
Rate of desertion for Iraqi soldiers deployed to combat areas outside their normal area of operation:		>50 percent
Number of guns paid for by the U.S. for Iraq’s security forces that are unaccounted for:		>14,000
Percent of Iraqis who view the security environment as bad or very bad, according to a February/March 2007 survey:		53 percent
Percent of Iraqis who say they have confidence in U.S. and coalition troops according to a February/March 2007 survey:		18 percent
Iraq – Political
Percent of Iraqis who say that their lives are generally good (according to a February/March 2007 poll):		39 percent
Percent of Iraqis surveyed in a similar poll in 2005 who said that their lives are generally good:		71 percent
Percent of Iraqis who believe the overall situation in Iraq is bad or very bad:		66 percent
Percent of Iraqi Sunnis disapprove of the way Prime Minister al-Maliki is handling his job, according to a March poll:		96 percent
Number of Iraqi security forces the Ministry of Interior recently fired after finding them guilty of torture, taking bribes, and having links to militias:		10,000
Percent of Iraq Ministry of Interior staff who are “ghost employees”:		20-30 percent
Annual cost of corruption to Iraq’s economy:		>$5 billion
Number of corruption-related investigations Iraq’s Ministry of Interior opened in 2006 alone:		3,403
Number of corruption-related investigations opened by Iraq’s Ministry of Interior, from January 1 – March 31, 2007:		1,954
Percent of U.S. reconstruction budget allocated to anti-corruption initiatives:		.03 percent or $65 million
Of the 1,000 U.S. employees at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, number who have a working knowledge of Arabic:		10
Iraq - Humanitarian
	Estimated number of Iraqi civilians killed in the violence since U.S.-led invasion, according to Iraq’s Minister of Health:	150,000
	Number of Iraqi civilians killed in the violence in 2006, according to the U.N.:	34,452
	Approximate number of Iraqi civilians being killed each day:	100
	Approximate number of Iraqi refugees:	2.2 million
	Approximate number of Iraqis who have been internally displaced:	2 million
	Approximate number of Iraqis who are being displaced each month:	80,000
	The number of new Iraqi passports issued since August 2005:	> 2 million
	Percent of Iraq’s professional class that has left the country since late 2003:	40 percent
	Approximate number of Iraqis who have fled to Jordan:	750,000
	Approximate number of Iraqis who have fled to Syria:	1.4 million
	Number of Iraqis who have been granted entry to the United States since 2003:	466
	Annual Iraq budget of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in 2003:	$150 million
	Annual Iraq budget of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in 2006:	$29 million
	Number of Baghdad residents polled in a March survey say they have experienced the kidnapping of a family member or relative in the past three years:	23 percent
	Number of Iraqi physicians registered prior to the invasion:	34,000
	Number of Iraqi physicians who have been murdered, kidnapped, or fled the country since the invasion:	14,250
	Portion of Iraq’s population that currently lives in poverty, according to the UNDP:	1/3
	Infant mortality rate in Iraq: (Middle East average is 37, sub-Saharan Africa average is 105)	102
	Percent of Iraqi children who are chronically malnourished:	21 percent
	Percent of Iraqi elementary-age children who attended school last year, according to the Iraq Ministry of Education:	75 percent
	Percent of Iraqi elementary-age children who are attending school now, according to the Iraq Ministry of Education:	30 percent
	Iraq - Reconstruction
	Percent of Iraqis who rate their family’s economic conditions as poor:	64 percent
	Estimated unemployment rate, according to the Pentagon:	13.4 – 60 percent
	Percent of Baghdadis surveyed in a January 2007 poll who said that their current income meets their basic needs:	16 percent
	Estimated number of jobs created by aid efforts:	< 140,000
	Estimated number of Iraqis still being paid not to work:	600,000
	Average rate of inflation in Iraq:	50 percent
	Of the $57 billion in contract funds for Iraq reconstruction aid, the amount the U.S. government has squandered due to contractor overcharges and unsupported expenses:	$10 billion
	Of these $10 billion in overpriced contracts and unsupported expenses, amount that was charged by Halliburton:	$2.7 billion
	According to the GAO, anticipated reconstruction gap (difference between estimates of what is needed to rebuild and what the international community has pledged in aid) that the new Iraqi government will face:	$50 billion
	Oil production for June 2007 (barrels per day):	1.97 million
	Average oil production prior to invasion (barrels per day):	2.5 million
	Bush Administration’s prewar projections of Iraq’s post-war oil output (barrels per day):	3 million
	Portion of Iraq’s GDP generated by oil revenues:	2/3
	Electricity capacity in Iraq (in megawatts) prior to invasion (March 2003):	4,000
	Electricity capacity to have been reached by July 2004, according to U.S. reconstruction goals:	6,000
	Electricity capacity in Iraq (in megawatts) in June 2007:	4,270
	Average number of daily hours of electricity nationwide:	14 hours
	Average number of daily hours of electricity in Baghdad:	6.5 hours
	Average number of daily hours of electricity in Baghdad prior to 2003:	16-24
	Percent of Iraqis who lack regular access to clean water:	70 percent

 
 
 

SOURCES
 

Iraq – Security

1.  Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf)
2.  The Brookings Institution Iraq Index reports that there were approximately 11,637 non-U.S., non-Iraqi troops in Iraq as of June 2007.  June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf)
3.  Senate Appropriations Committee Majority Staff, estimate includes funding provided in the Senate-approved emergency supplemental bill (H.R. 1591).
4.  Low end cost, Congressional Budget Office, 7/13/06 – the CBO offers two different scenarios, with estimated costs of $493 billion and $697 billion.  High end cost is from Linda Bilmes and Joseph Stiglitz, in the December 2006 Milken Institute Review (http://www.milkeninstitute.org/publications/review/2006_12/76_83mr32.pdf)
5.  Christian Science Monitor, 8/29/05.
6. Congressional Research Service RL 33110. (http://www.congress.gov/erp/rl/pdf/RL33110.pdf)  This estimate includes both operational (military personnel, operation and maintenance, working capitol, defense health) and investment (procurement, RTD&E, and military construction) costs, last updated March 14, 2007.
7.  Congressional Research Service RL 33110. (http://www.congress.gov/erp/rl/pdf/RL33110.pdf)  This estimate includes both operational (military personnel, operation and maintenance, working capitol, defense health) and investment (procurement, RTD&E, and military construction) costs, last updated September 22, 2006.
8.  DoD Casualty Report (http://www.dod.gov/news/casualty.pdf) June 25, 2007.
9.  Associated Press, 4/30/07.
10. Washington Post, 6/3/07.
11. DoD Casualty Report (http://www.dod.gov/news/casualty.pdf) June 25, 2007.
12. As of June 2, 2007.  Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf)
13.  New York Daily News, 7/5/05.
14. As of June 20, 2007.  Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf)
15.  Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf)
16.  New York Times, 5/30/06.
17.  Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf)
18.  Cordesman, Anthony. “Reconstruction in Iraq: The Uncertain Way Ahead.” CSIS, updated January 19, 2007. (http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/070119_iraq_reconstruction.pdf)
19. New York Times, 11/26/06.
20. Washington Post, 5/1/07.  Statistics compiled by the National Counterterrorism Center – there were 3,468 attacks in Iraq in 2005 and 6,630 in 2006.
21. BBC News, 3/19/07. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6464277.stm)
22. Department of Defense, Measuring Security and Stability in Iraq, March 2007. (http://www.defenselink.mil/home/pdf/9010_March_2007_Final_Signed.pdf).
23. Department of Defense, Measuring Security and Stability in Iraq, 11/30/06 (http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/9010Quarterly-Report-20061216.pdf).
24. Department of Defense, Measuring Security and Stability in Iraq, 11/30/06 (http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/9010Quarterly-Report-20061216.pdf).
25. The Times, 1/19/07.
26. BBC News, 3/19/07. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6464277.stm)
27. BBC News, 3/19/07. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6464277.stm)

Iraq – Political

1. BBC News, 3/19/07. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6464277.stm)
2. BBC News, 3/19/07. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6464277.stm)
3. BBC News, 3/19/07. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6464277.stm)
4. According to a March 2007 Poll by D3 Systems for BBC, ABD, ARD German TV and USA Today, cited in the Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf)
5. USA Today, 3/5/07.
6. GAO-07-426T, 2/15/07. (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07426t.pdf)
7.  Special Inspector for Iraq Reconstruction, Quarterly Report, April 2007. (http://www.sigir.mil/reports/quarterlyreports/Apr07/pdf/Report_-_April_2007_Complete.pdf)
8.  Department of Defense, Measuring Security and Stability in Iraq, March 2007. (http://www.defenselink.mil/home/pdf/9010_March_2007_Final_Signed.pdf).
9. Department of Defense, Measuring Security and Stability in Iraq, June 2007. (http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/9010-Final-20070608.pdf)
10. London Review of Books, 11/2/06.
11. ABC News, 6/20/07.

Iraq - Humanitarian

1. UN Assistance Mission in Iraq, Quarterly Human Rights Report, 10/31/06. (http://www.uniraq.org/documents/HR%20Report%20Sep%20Oct%202006%20EN.pdf) (there is no official number – estimates vary widely.  Other estimates include: 60,754 Iraq Body Count (not including deaths during major combat operations in 2003) (http://www.iraqbodycount.net/) accessed on 1/29/07).
2. New York Times, 1/16/07.
3. New York Times, 6/14/07.
4.  Associated Press, 6/5/07.
5.  Associated Press, 6/5/07.
6. Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf)
7. Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf)
8. Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf)
9. Associated Press, 6/5/07.
10. Associated Press, 6/5/07.
11. Los Angeles Times, 1/17/07.
12. Brookings Institution, 1/4/07.(http://www.brookings.edu/views/op-ed/cohenr/20070104.htm)
13. Brookings Institution, 1/4/07.(http://www.brookings.edu/views/op-ed/cohenr/20070104.htm)
14. According to a March 2007 Poll by Opinion Research Business, cited in the Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf)
15. Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf)
16. Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf)
17. UN News Centre, 2/18/07.
18. Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf)
19. New York Times, 4/18/07.
20. Newsweek, 1/22/07.
21. Newsweek, 1/22/07.

Iraq - Reconstruction

1.  Department of Defense, Measuring Security and Stability in Iraq, March 2007. (http://www.defenselink.mil/home/pdf/9010_March_2007_Final_Signed.pdf).
2. Department of Defense, Measuring Security and Stability in Iraq, March 2007. (http://www.defenselink.mil/home/pdf/9010_March_2007_Final_Signed.pdf).
3. Department of Defense, Measuring Security and Stability in Iraq, March 2007. (http://www.defenselink.mil/home/pdf/9010_March_2007_Final_Signed.pdf).
4. Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf).
5. Cordesman, Anthony. “Reconstruction in Iraq: The Uncertain Way Ahead.” CSIS, updated January 19, 2007. (http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/070119_iraq_reconstruction.pdf)
6. Special Inspector for Iraq Reconstruction, Quarterly Report, April 2007. (http://www.sigir.mil/reports/quarterlyreports/Apr07/pdf/Report_-_April_2007_Complete.pdf)
7. Cordesman, Anthony. “Reconstruction in Iraq: The Uncertain Way Ahead.” CSIS, updated January 19, 2007. (http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/070119_iraq_reconstruction.pdf)
8. Associated Press, 2/15/07.
9. GAO-06-885T, 7/19/06.
10. Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf).
11. Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf).
12.  Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf).
13. Department of Defense, Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq, November 2006.  http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/Iraq_Reports/Index.html
14.  Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf).
15. Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf).
16. Brookings Institution Iraq Index, June 21, 2007. (http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf). (http://www.sigir.mil/reports/quarterlyreports/Oct06/Default.aspx) 
17. Special Inspector for Iraq Reconstruction, Quarterly Report, April 2007. (http://www.sigir.mil/reports/quarterlyreports/Apr07/pdf/Report_-_April_2007_Complete.pdf)
18. Special Inspector for Iraq Reconstruction, Quarterly Report, April 2007. (http://www.sigir.mil/reports/quarterlyreports/Apr07/pdf/Report_-_April_2007_Complete.pdf)
19. Center for American Progress, Think Progress.org, October 18, 2006. (http://thinkprogress.org/2006/10/18/iraq-electricity/)
20. New York Times, 4/18/07.

 

 

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