Is the surge REALLY working in Iraq? . . . Not like the media would have you believe.

[skip fox]

Data on Iraqi War

Numerical list of Iraqi and American casualties over the last 18 months followed by a list of annotated hot links to sites with accurate information on other costs (privations, displacement, etc.). This post provides a list of hot links Duers and others can use to put the "surge" and our present strategies in perspective, providing valuable data on the Iraqi War, its cost in lives, blood, and treasure for both the Americans as well as the Iraqis and contractors. The first few focus on casualities, thereafter on services lost and daily life for the Iraqis’.

I’m trying to make this post useful for those who want quick access to certain facts, but I have not scoured the net for the sites, and I am sure many more exist. Please send links to more sites with data when you find them.

Prelminary important data from http://icasualties.org/oif / (see below) for last 18 months.

Deaths: | US/UK | Iraqi

4/06   | 77   | 1009
5/06   | 78   | 1119
6/06   | 61   | 870
7/06   | 42   | 1280
8/06   | 66   | 2966
9/06   | 75   | 3539
10/06  | 108 | 1539
11/06  |  76  | 1864
12/06  | 113 | 1752
1/07   |  86  | 1802
2/07   |  84  | 3014
3/07   |  84  | 2977
4/07   | 116  | 1821
5/07   | 129  | 1980
6/07   | 108  | 1345
7/07   |  88  | 1690
8/07   | 88  |  1674
9/07   | 68  |  842
10/07  | 22+  |  327+

(Iraqi deaths are civilians and soldiers.)

Note, while all deaths went down in Sept. 2007 from the previous Sept., each month previous in 2007 had a significantly higher casualty rate than in the corresponding month of 2006. Thus the surge has “worked” one month out of six. I might be more fair to say the surge has failed 5/6ths of the time than “The surge is working.”



LIST OF LINKS TO STATISTICS


CAUSUALITY STATS:



Iraq Coalition Casualty Count provided the list at the top of this page and is a great first place to go for reliable data

http://icasualties.org/oif /


It has a number of tables charting such things as numbers of deaths (by time and country) medical evacuations (by service), wounded (by week), and so forth. A Great site for collecting initial stats. It also contains links to fatalities and injuries by state, services, etc., and one to contractor causalities.



Military Deaths in the Conquest of Iraq

http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/USfatalities.html

Provides two fine graphs showing number of US deaths since March 2003. One is a bar graph giving a month-by-month number of killed. The top one shows the total number of deaths which notes several relevant historical occurrences.

The second shows that the surge’s success in terms of numbers is effective only if you focus on a few months:






US Causalities in Iraq

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_casualties.htm

Provides a table for a month-by-month list of the numbers of US dead and wounded and two bar graphs below it which the some information in visual form. (Herein you can note that some of the summer months have had the fewest causalities. It's probably has hard to kill in 114 degree heat as it is to do anything else.)





OVERALL STATS:


From the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings' The Iraq Index
http://www.brookings.edu/iraqindex
attempts to provide "a statistical compilation of economic, public opinion, and security data. . . . updated information on various criteria, including crime, telephone and water service, troop fatalities, unemployment, Iraqi security forces, oil production, and coalition troop strength." It has hundreds of graphs in a month-by-month statistical assement of the war in pdf. format which provide very nuanced (and valuable for someone willing to dig) including such things as numbers of Iraqis and foreign nationals kidnapped, reporters killed, deaths from multiple-causality bombs, estimated strength of insurgency, etc. Extremely valuable!


Asia Times on Line's article ("Dispaches from America: Escalation in Iraq by the Numbers") by Tom Engelhardt
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IH15Ak03.html
Provides a list of numbers of troops, attacks, contractors, companies, prisoners, electrical blackouts as well as such things as projected costs, temperatures, availability and cost of water, Iraqi government stats and amount of oil, etc. In short, although is not presented in tables or graphs, it provides data to help determine the total context of the war. A very valuable collection of information that will aid to see the full picture.


Iraq's Private Warriors:
http://www.warprofiteers.com/article.php?id=11551

"Facts and figures on: congressional budget allocations vs. actual expenditures; pay scales for Iraqi and foreign personnel; and comparisons of equipment ordered for Iraq and equipment delivered." (From Corpwatch). Includes such data as number of vehicles ordered to be sent to Iraqi police and how many actually arrived, etc.




STATS ON IRAQI RESOURCES:

The Oxfam Report on Resources Iraqi resources
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/policy/conflict_disasters/bp105_iraq.html
provides a list of list of percentages related to the current conditions for Iraqi citizens concentrating on the availability of food, water, sanatation, shelter and so forth as well as their employment figures.





IRAQI PRECEPTION:

On Mon. Sept. 10, a BBC article found 70% of Iraqis thought security deteriorated over the past six months and almost 50% wanted the US occupation over immediately:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6983841.stm

The article’s charts show Iraqi feelings about security over past 6 months:



and their feelings about toward continued occupation over a two year period:







Are there stats on refugees???


Thanks to all who have provided links. Please send more. I'll annotate (as above) and add. Think of the value of the following types of information:
# of Iraqi refugees leaving country
# of Iraqi refugees internally displaced
# of IED attacks on American/Coalition Forces
# of Iraqis kidnapped and tortured, found dumped