Top Ten Statistics - Declining Military Readiness

Length of tour of duty for active duty Army soldiers currently deployed, and those who will deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan through July 31, 2008:

15 months

Number of U.S. service members (out of a total of 1.7 million) who have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan more than once:

599,275

Percent increase in the likelihood that Soldiers develop severe post-combat mental health problems with each deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan, according to the Pentagon:

60 percent

Percent of noncommissioned officers who reported mental health problems during their first tour:

11.9 percent

Percent of noncommissioned officers who reported mental health problems during their third or fourth tour:

27.2 percent

Number of members of the Army National Guard who have been deployed both to Afghanistan and Iraq:

200,000

Percent of Army and National Guard members who have been deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan who have returned from war with mental health problems:

49 percent

Increase in the number of soldiers being forced to remain in the Army under stop-loss policies, since the start of the military surge in January 2007:

43 percent

Suicide rate per 100,000 active-duty soldiers in 2001:

9.8

Suicide rate per 100,000 active-duty soldiers in 2006:

17.5

National Security Priorities

Number of terrorist safe havens for al Qaeda's senior leadership located in Iraq:

0

Number of terrorist safe havens for al Qaeda's senior leadership located on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan:

1

Rank of threat to U.S. homeland security posed by al Qaeda operating on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to U.S. intelligence agencies:

1

Percent of U.S. national security budget devoted to Iraq:

20 percent

Percent of U.S. national security budget devoted to Afghanistan:

4 percent

Number of U.S. troops in Iraq:

155,000

Number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan:

31,000

Number of additional troops needed in Afghanistan, according to NATO military commanders:

7,000 - 8,000

Number of fully ready Army combat brigades on standby (not deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan), ready to respond to potential national security threats or crises around the world:

0

Percent of Army National Guard forces in the United States that are very poorly equipped according to the National Guard Bureau:

88 percent

Percent of current and former U.S. military officers surveyed in a recent independent study who believe that the demands of the war in Iraq have "stretched the U.S. military dangerously thin:"

88 percent

Percent of military officers surveyed who believe that Iran has gained "the greatest strategic advantage from the war in Iraq:"

37 percent

Terrorism

Operational links between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq:

0

Number of days Osama bin Laden has remained at large:

2,427

Number of significant global terrorist attacks reported by the State Department in 2003:

175

Total number of worldwide terrorist attacks reported by the U.S. Government's National Counterterrorism Center in 2004:

3,194

Total number of worldwide terrorist attacks reported by the U.S. Government's National Counterterrorism Center in 2005:

11,156

Total number of worldwide terrorist attacks reported by the U.S. Government's National Counterterrorism Center in 2006:

14,570

Total number of worldwide terrorist attacks reported by the U.S. Government's National Counterterrorism Center in 2007:

14,499

Of the 1,840 suicide bombings that have occurred worldwide in the past 25 years, percent that have taken place since 2001:

86 percent

Percent increase in worldwide suicide attacks from 2003 to 2007:

>800 percent

Percent of a bipartisan group of more than 100 U.S. foreign policy experts who do not believe that the United States is winning the war on terror:

84 percent

Iraq - Bush Administration Strategy

Number of U.S. troops that will be in Iraq in the summer of 2008, according to the Bush Administration's projections:

140,000

Number of U.S. troops in Iraq in January 2007, prior to the military escalation:

132,000

Number of U.S. troops in Iraq when President Bush declared "mission accomplished" in May 2003:

130,000

Number of years that Iraq's security forces will continue to require U.S. military support, according to senior military officials:

10 years

Approximate amount the U.S. is spending in Iraq per month:

$12 billion

Percent of the $10 billion in reconstruction funds that the Iraqi government spent on programs aimed at improving the lives of the Iraqi people (as of November 2007):

7 percent

Estimated amount of Iraqi government surplus funds that are currently sitting in bank accounts, primarily in the United States:

$30 billion

Percent of Iraqis surveyed in a March 2008 poll who oppose the presence of Coalition Forces in Iraq:

73 percent

Percent of Iraqis who approve of attacks on Coalition forces:

42 percent

Percent of Americans who support a strategy to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq:

56 percent

Percent of American military families who disapprove of the Bush administration's handling of the needs of active-duty troops, military families and veterans:

53 percent

Rank of Iraq on the 2007 Failed States Index:

2

Estimated amount of Iraqi government money that has been lost to corruption and stealing schemes (and often has fallen into the hands of militias) since 2004:

$18 billion

Rank of Iraq on Transparency International's annual corruption index (out of 180 countries surveyed, with 180 being the most corrupt):

178

Iraq - Costs

Number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq:

4,070

Number of U.S. service members wounded in Iraq:

29,911

The Bush Administration's original estimates of the cost of the war:

$50-60 billion

Amount appropriated for operations in Iraq to date:

$526 billion

Estimated total cost of the war in Iraq:

>$3 trillion

Estimated number of Iraqis killed in the violence since U.S.-led invasion, according to a survey conducted by the Iraqi government and the World Health Organization:

151,000

Number of Iraqi civilians that need immediate emergency aid (i.e. water, sanitation, food and shelter), according to an independent July 2007 study:

8 million (approximately 1/3 of Iraq population)

Approximate number of Iraqi who have fled the country as refugees:

2.5 million

Approximate number of Iraqis who have been internally displaced:

2.4 million

Number of Iraqis who were granted entry to the United States in Fiscal Year 2007 (out of a goal of 7,000):

1,608

Number of Iraqis who have been granted entry to the United States so far this year (out of a goal of 12,000):

2,627

Percent of Iraq's population that currently lives in "absolute poverty":

43

Infant mortality rate in Iraq: (Middle East average is 37, sub-Saharan Africa average is 105)

102

Iraq - Reconstruction

Estimated unemployment rate, according to the Pentagon:

17.6 percent

Estimated underemployment rate, according to the Pentagon:

38.1 percent

Percent of Iraqis surveyed in a February poll who rated the availability of jobs as quite bad or very bad:

70 percent

Oil production for April 2008 (barrels per day):

2.23 million

Average oil production prior to invasion (barrels per day):

2.5 million

Portion of Iraq's GDP generated by oil revenues:

2/3

Electricity production in Iraq (in megawatts) prior to invasion (March 2003):

4,110

Electricity production to have been reached by July 2004, according to U.S. reconstruction goals:

6,000

Electricity production in Iraq (in megawatts) in April 2008:

4,100

Percent current electricity supply outpaces demand:

57 percent

Percent of Iraqis surveyed in a February poll who rated the supply of electricity as "quite bad" or "very bad:"

88 percent

Percent of Iraqis who lacked regular access to clean water prior to 2003:

50 percent

Percent of Iraqis who lack regular access to clean water today - according to a July 2007 Oxfam International report:

70 percent

Percent of Iraqis who lack effective sanitation - according to a July 2007 Oxfam International report:

80 percent

Number of the 142 U.S. funded primary health care centers that are open to the public:

50

Percent of Iraqis surveyed in a February poll who rated the availability of medical care as "quite bad" or "very bad:"

62 percent

Afghanistan

Number of suicide attacks between 2001-2005:

6

Number of suicide attacks in 2005:

17

Number of suicide attacks in 2006:

123

Number of suicide attacks in 2007:

160

Overall increase in violence between 2006-2007, according to the U.N:

30 percent

Number of troops in the Afghan National Army (its target strength of 80,000):

49,000

Percent of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's government controls, according to DNI Michael McConnell:

30-31 percent

Number of hectares in Afghanistan used for poppy cultivation in 2006:

165,000

Number of hectares in Afghanistan used for poppy cultivation in 2007:

193,000

Percent increase in poppy cultivation between 2006 and 2007 in Afghanistan's Helmand province, where the Taliban insurgency is concentrated:

48 percent

Percent of world's supply of opium that Afghanistan produces:

93 percent

Percent of Afghanistan's population involved in poppy cultivation in 2007:

14.3 percent

(an increase of 14 percent over 2006)

Percent of poppy revenue cultivators receive:

20 percent

Percent of the resources financing the Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan that is obtained through illicit poppy cultivation:

40 percent

Percent of Afghan poppy cultivators who say they are willing to abandon poppy cultivation if they can earn at least half as much from legal economic activities, according to the UNODC:

98 percent

Estimated cost of completing reconstruction in Afghanistan:

$30-$40 billion

Amount the international community has provided since 2001:

$13 billion

Percent of Afghan population that lacks access to electricity:

80 percent

Percent of Afghan population that lacks sustainable access to safe drinking water:

68 percent

Percent of the Afghan population that fall below the threshold for food insecurity:

30-61 percent

GDP per capita of Afghanistan in 2007:

$964

Out of 178 countries, rank of Afghanistan in the UNDP's Human Development Index:

174

Rank of Afghanistan on the 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index:

9^th most corrupt

Pakistan

Estimated amount the U.S. has provided in aid to Pakistan since September 11, 2001:

> $10 billion

Percent of that aid that has gone to support development or humanitarian assistance initiatives:

10 percent

Percent of suicide attackers in Afghanistan who have been recruited or received training or other support in Pakistan's tribal areas, according to the U.N.:

80 percent

Percent of Pakistanis who gave Osama bin Laden a favorable approval rating, according to an August poll by the non-partisan organization Terror Free Tomorrow:

46 percent

Percent of Pakistanis surveyed who gave a favorable view of the United States:

19 percent

Percent of Pakistanis surveyed who believe the U.S.-led war on terror has an anti-Islam motivation:

66 percent

World Opinion

Percent of surveyed citizens from 25 countries who say that the U.S. is playing a mainly negative role in the world, according to an April 2008 BBC World Service Poll:

47 percent

Percent of surveyed citizens in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates who have an unfavorable view of the United States, according to an April 2008 University of Maryland/Zogby International poll:

83 percent

Percent of those surveyed who believe that Iraqis are worse off than they were before the U.S. invasion in 2003:

80 percent

Number of countries that have a less favorable opinion of the United States today than they did in 2002, according to a July 2007 Pew Global Attitudes survey of 47 countries:

26

Percent of Palestinians, Turks, Egyptians, and Jordanians from the Pew survey who expressed unfavorable opinions of the United States:

>75 percent

Number of the five Western Allies surveyed (Canada, Britain, France, Germany, and Spain) who have more negative views of the United States today, than they did in 2002:

5

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Percent of U.S.-funded security and accounting upgrades that have been completed on buildings with weapons-usable nuclear material in the former Soviet Union:

55 percent

Percent of security upgrades completed on Russian nuclear warhead sites:

50 percent

Amount of Russia's stockpile of weapons-usable nuclear material that would be sufficient for terrorists to make several nuclear bombs:

.01

Number of research reactors around the world (in an estimated 40 countries) that continue to operate with highly enriched uranium as their fuel:

140

- North Korea

Estimated number of nuclear weapons North Korea has produced to date:

6-12

Estimated minimum number of nuclear weapons likely produced by North Korea during the Bush Administration:

4-10

Estimated number of nuclear weapons produced by North Korea from 1953 to 2000:

1-2

- Iran

Rank of Iran in the State Department's report on state-sponsors of terrorism:

1

Number of years before Iran will be able to produce a nuclear weapon, according to media reports on the spring 2005 National Intelligence Estimate:

5-10

Number of centrifuges for enriching uranium that Iran says are currently operating at its facility in Natanz:

3,000

Number of years it would take to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear weapon with 3,000 centrifuges in operation:

2

Number of days the Bush Administration has allowed Iranian nuclear activities to continue without full international verification and monitoring:

3,048

Darfur

Total population of the Darfur region:

6 million

Estimated conflict-related deaths since the crisis began in February 2003:

450,000

Approximate number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur:

2.38 million

Estimated number of Sudanese in refugee camps in Chad:

234,000

Number of additional civilians seriously affected by the ongoing crisis and dependent on food and medical aid:

1.8 million

Percent of affected population accessible to U.N. humanitarian aid:

< 70 percent

Days since the Bush Administration first called the situation "genocide":

1,334

Estimated number of U.N.-African Union (UNAMID) peacekeeping personnel that have deployed to Darfur (under authority of the July 2007 U.N resolution calling for 26,000 peacekeeping troops):

9,212

U.S. Military

- Readiness/Strain

Ideal rotation ratio of deployment period to resting, training, and preparing period:

1:3

Army baseline policy for rotation ration:

1:2

Current Army rotation ratio:

5:4

(15 month to 12 month)

Current rotation ratio for Marines:

7:6

(7 month to 6 month)

National Guard and Reserve were mobilized as of April 30, 2008:

101,012

Number of National Guard brigades that have been notified to prepare for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan in the fall of 2008/early 2009:

8

Number of members of the Army National Guard who have been deployed both to Afghanistan and Iraq:

200,000

Percent of Army and National Guard members who have been deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan who have returned from war suffering mental health problems:

49 percent

Percent of Army and Marine ground equipment currently in Iraq:

40 percent

Marine Corps equipment shortfall in Fiscal Year 2007:

$12 billion

The Marine Corps's estimated equipment reset cost over Fiscal Years 2008-2013:

$10.2 billion

The Army's equipment reset cost in Fiscal Year 2004:

$3.3 billion

The Army's equipment reset cost in Fiscal Year 2007:

$17 billion

Estimated cost of replacing, repairing, and upgrading the Army's equipment stocks that have been war down, lost, or damaged in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan between Fiscal Years 2004 and 2013:

$190 billion

Equipment shortfall currently facing the National Guard and Reserve units:

$48 billion

- Recruiting and Retention

Percent of military who approve of the President's handling of the war in Iraq, according to a 2006 Military Times poll:

35 percent

Percent of military who approved of the President's handling of the war in Iraq, according to a 2004 Military Times poll:

63 percent

Number of Army soldiers who have been affected by stop-loss policies:

>70,000

Number of enlistees with felony convictions and arrests the Army allowed in 2003:

459

Number of enlistees with felony convictions and arrests the Army allowed in 2007:

1,620

Number of new Army recruits who were granted moral waivers in Fiscal Year 2003:

4,644

Number of new Army recruits who were granted moral waivers in Fiscal Year 2007:

12,057

Percent of all new Army recruits who were granted moral waivers in Fiscal Year 2007:

11 percent

Percent of all new Army recruits who were granted moral waivers so far this Fiscal Year:

13 percent

Percentage of Army recruits who had high school diplomas in Fiscal Year 2003:

94 percent

Percentage of Army recruits who had high school diplomas in Fiscal Year 2007:

79 percent

Amount the Army and Marines spent on reenlistment bonuses in 2003:

$174 million

Amount the Army and Marines spent on reenlistment bonuses in 2006:

$1.03 billion

Amount the National Guard and Reserves spent on bonuses in 2003:

$27 million

Amount the National Guard and Reserves spent on bonuses in 2006:

$335 million

Reenlistment bonus the Army is now offering to captains:

Up to $35,000

Enlistment bonus the Army is now offering soldiers who enlist for 2-6 years:

$20,000-40,000

Reenlistment rate of mid-grade enlisted Army soldiers in 2005:

96 percent

Reenlistment rate of mid-grade enlisted Army soldiers in 2006:

84 percent

Number of captains and majors the Army is short this year, and each year, through 2013:

3,000

Number of Majors the Army is short, despite accelerated promotions and lowered standards:

17 percent

Percentage of the West Point Class of 2001 who have left the military:

46 percent

Average percent of West Point class graduates who have chosen to depart service after five years of service in the last several decades:

10-30 percent

Percent increase in desertion rate for active-duty Army soldiers last year:

27 percent

Percent vacancy rate of Army psychiatrists:

39 percent

Maximum enlistment age for the U.S. Army today:

42

Maximum enlistment age for the U.S. Army in December 2005:

35

Veterans

Estimated number of the 1.7 million OIF/OEF veterans who currently suffer from PTSD or severe depression, according to an April 2008 RAND study:

300,00, or

17 percent

Estimated number of OIF/OEF veterans who experienced probable Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) during deployment, according to the RAND study:

320,000 or 19.5 percent

Number of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who have mental health issues, according to the Pentagon:

38 percent

Number of National Guard members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who suffer from mental health issues, according to the Pentagon:

50 percent

Number of the 1,400 VA health care facilities that have in-patient PTSD programs:

27

Number of the approximately 1.7 million Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who have left active duty and become eligible for VA health care, as of January 2008:

799,791

Percent of these veterans who have accessed VA health care:

37 percent

(or 299,585)

Number of OIF/OEF veterans seen for mental disorders at VHA facilities through January 2008:

120,049

Number of OIF/OEF veterans seen for potential PTSD at VHA facilities through January 2008:

59,838

Estimated number of veterans denied access to VA health services since the Bush Administration imposed a ban on Priority 8 veterans:

1 million

Total Compensation and Pension Claims Backlog as of April 12, 2008:

646,645

Percent of these claims pending for more than 6 months:

27.6 percent

Average number of days it takes the Veterans Benefits Administration to process an original claim:

183 days

Average number of days it takes the Veterans Benefits Administration to process an appeal:

660 days

Number of disability claims generated from OIF/OEF veterans:

243,034

Unemployment rate for veterans age 20-24:

12 percent

Unemployment rate for non-veterans age 20-24:

8 percent

Approximate number of veterans who are currently homeless:

196,000

Percent of homeless people in the United States who are veterans:

25 percent

Homeland Security

Percent of the U.S. "national security budget" devoted to homeland security:

9 percent

Number of states DHS rated as having sufficient disaster plans:

10 percent

Of the 75 U.S. metropolitan areas assessed, number of cities that DHS gave the highest rating for interoperable communications in its January 2007 scorecard:

6

Funding cut proposed by the Bush Administration for pre-disaster mitigation programs for Fiscal Year 2009:

34 percent

Percent of National Guard equipment currently available for domestic emergency response, according to the National Guard Bureau:

49 percent

Percent of necessary equipment generally available to National Guard, according to the GAO:

65-79

Estimated unfunded equipment shortfall facing National Guard and Reserve units at the beginning of Fiscal Year 2007:

$48 billion

Year Army Reserve units will reach readiness, under current budget plans:

2019

Percent of the intelligence budget dedicated to homeland security intelligence and warning:

1 percent

Number of intelligence officers DHS has deployed to state and local fusion centers, which coordinate the gathering, analysis, and sharing of homeland security, terrorism, and law enforcement intelligence:

19

Funding cut proposed by President Bush to the state homeland security grant program for Fiscal Year 2009, which includes law enforcement and terrorism prevention initiatives:

$750 million

Number of officers the New York City police force has been cut since 9/11:

5,000

Funding cut proposed by President Bush for grants for infrastructure protection, including rail, mass transit, and port security in Fiscal Year 2009:

50 percent

Percent of cargo containers entering U.S. ports that are physically inspected:

5 percent

Number of DHS employees who will be responsible for overseeing new security regulations affecting several thousand chemical facilities nationwide:

<100

Democracy and Development

Percent of the U.S. "national security budget" (including defense and homeland security funding) that is dedicated to international development initiatives:

6.6 percent

Total amount appropriated to the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) so far:

$7.5 billion

Total aid committed to MCC contracts as of March 31:

$515 million

Number of the world's 50 least developed countries with whom the United States has signed an MCA compact:

7

Rank of the United States among the world's 22 major donor countries in foreign assistance spending, measured as a percentage of Gross National Income:

22

Average percent of Gross National Income the world's 22 major donor countries spent on foreign assistance in 2006:

.46 percent

Percent of U.S. Gross National Income spent on foreign assistance in 2007:

.16 percent

Number of children dying each day from preventable diseases:

29,000

Percentage of the world's population living on less than $2 per day:

50