Saturday, November 22, 2008

Zombie: Victory in Iraq Day

The indomitable Zombie has proclaimed today...
Victory In Iraq Day: 11-22-08
...and we are proud to join in the celebration

By now you've probably seen the report from Michael Yon:

THE WAR IS OVER AND WE WON: There's nothing going on. I'm with the 10th Mountain Division, and about half of the guys I'm with haven't fired their weapons on this tour and they've been here eight months. And the place we're at, South Baghdad, used to be one of the worst places in Iraq. And now there's nothing going on. I've been walking my feet off and haven't seen anything.
We're not going to get an official event like the surrender of the Nazis after Hitler's suicide, or a signing ceremony like the one on the Missouri. And we still have forces in Japan and Germany, 60 years after World War II ended.

Per the new Status of Forces Agreement, expected to be ratified by the Iraqi Parliament next week, we'll have troops there for about three more years, gradually reducing their numbers as the Iraqi Army and Police continue to prove they are capable of maintaining order. We've already started drawing down troop levels.

Celebrate Victory in Iraq!
[Click on the title above, or date stamp below, to see the full article.]

Posted by The Monster at 2:00 PM

2 comments:

  1. All my hopes are with the Iraqi people; all my thanks with those who risked all to make their freedom possible. Long may they live with freedom, prosperity, and the necessary resolve to stand to defend them.
    ReplyDelete
  2. Simply astonishingNov 23, 2008 10:52 PM
    Here are just a few of the statistics of our "victory" as recorded by the Brookings Institute. I challenge ANYONE to find "victory" in the data:
    U.S. SPENDING IN IRAQ

    Spent & Approved War-Spending - About $600 billion of US taxpayers' funds. In June 2008, President Bush signed a bill approving about 200 billion more for 2008, which brings the cumulative total to close to $800 billion.

    U.S. Monthly Spending in Iraq - $12 billion in 2008

    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 (Congressional Research Service)

    Lost & Unaccounted for in Iraq - $9 billion of US taxpayers' money and $549.7 milion in spare parts shipped in 2004 to US contractors. Also, per ABC News, 190,000 guns, including 110,000 AK-47 rifles.

    Missing - $1 billion in tractor trailers, tank recovery vehicles, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and other equipment and services provided to the Iraqi security forces. (Per CBS News on Dec 6, 2007.)

    Mismanaged & Wasted in Iraq - $10 billion, per Feb 2007 Congressional hearings

    Halliburton Overcharges Classified by the Pentagon as Unreasonable and Unsupported - $1.4 billion

    Amount paid to KBR, a former Halliburton division, to supply U.S. military in Iraq with food, fuel, housing and other items - $20 billion

    Portion of the $20 billion paid to KBR that Pentagon auditors deem "questionable or supportable" - $3.2 billion

    Number of major U.S. bases in Iraq - 75 (The Nation/New York Times)

    TROOPS IN IRAQ

    Iraqi Troops Trained and Able to Function Independent of U.S. Forces - 6,000 as of May 2007 (per NBC's "Meet the Press" on May 20, 2007)

    Troops in Iraq - Total 152,400, including 146,000 from the US, 4,000 from the UK, 900 from Poland, 650 from South Korea and 850 from all other nations

    U.S. Troop Casualties - 4,193 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 313, with 176 from the UK

    US Troops Wounded - 30,774, 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 - 68 total, at least 36 by enemy fire

    IRAQI TROOPS, CIVILIANS & OTHERS IN IRAQ

    Private Contractors in Iraq, Working in Support of US Army Troops - More than 180,000 in August 2007, per The Nation/LA Times.

    Journalists killed - 135, 91 by murder and 44 by acts of war

    Journalists killed by US Forces - 14

    Iraqi Police and Soldiers Killed - 8,745

    Iraqi Civilians Killed, Estimated - 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 casualties at over 600,000.

    Iraqi Insurgents Killed, Roughly Estimated - 55,000

    Non-Iraqi Contractors and Civilian Workers Killed - 554

    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

    QUALITY OF LIFE INDICATORS

    Iraqis Displaced Inside Iraq, by Iraq War, as of May 2007 - 2,255,000

    Iraqi Refugees in Syria & Jordan - 2.1 million to 2.25 million

    Iraqi Unemployment Rate - 27 to 60%, where curfew not in effect

    Consumer Price Inflation in 2006 - 50%

    Iraqi Children Suffering from Chronic Malnutrition - 28% in June 2007 (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)

    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% (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)

    Water Treatment Plants Rehabilitated - 22%

    RESULTS OF POLL Taken in Iraq in August 2005 by the British Ministry of Defense (Source: Brookings Institute)

    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 secure because of the occupation - 67%

    Iraqis who do not have confidence in multi-national forces - 72%
    ReplyDelete

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