The numbers pretty much speak for themselves.
http://www.ips-dc.org/iraq/failedtransition/index.htm" A Failed 'Transition' is the most comprehensive accounting of the
mounting costs of the Iraq war on the United States, Iraq, and the
world. Among its major findings are stark figures about the escalation
of costs in these most recent three months of "transition" to Iraqi
rule, a period that the Bush administration claimed would be
characterized by falling human and economic costs.
1.
U.S. Military Casualties Have Been Highest During the
"Transition": U.S. military casualties (wounded and killed) stand at a
monthly average of 747 since the so-called "transition" to Iraqi rule
on June 28, 2004. This contrasts with a monthly average of 482 U.S.
military casualties during the invasion (March 20-May 1, 2003) and a
monthly average of 415 during the occupation (May 2, 2003-June 28,
2004).
2.
Non-Iraqi Contractor Deaths Have Also Been Highest During the
"Transition": There has also been a huge increase in the average
monthly deaths of U.S. and other non-Iraqi contractors since the
"transition." On average, 17.5 contractors have died each month since
the June 28 "transition," versus 7.6 contractor deaths per month during
the previous 14 months of occupation.
3.
Estimated Strength of Iraqi Resistance Skyrockets: Because the
U.S. military occupation remains in place, the "transition" has failed
to win Iraqi support or diminish Iraqi resistance to the occupation.
According to Pentagon estimates, the number of Iraqi resistance
fighters has quadrupled between November of 2003 and early September
2004, from 5,000 to 20,000. The Deputy Commander of Coalition forces in
Iraq, British Major General Andrew Graham, indicated to Time magazine
in early September that he thinks the 20,000 estimate is too low; he
estimates Iraqi resistance strength at 40,000-50,000. This rise is even
starker when juxtaposed to Brookings Institution estimates that an
additional 24,000 Iraqi resistance fighters have been detained or
killed between May 2003 and August 2004.
4.
U.S.- led Coalition Shrinks Further After "Transition": The
number of countries identified as members of the Coalition backing the
U.S.-led war started with 30 on March 18, 2003, then grew in the early
months of the war. Since then, eight countries have withdrawn their
troops and Costa Rica has demanded to be taken off the coalition list.
At the war's start, coalition countries represented 19.1 percent of the
world's population; today, the remaining countries with foces in Iraq
represent only 13.6 percent of the world's population.