36 Important Facts about the Iraq War

Published August 27, 2017

During the Iraq War, at least 189,000 people died directly from the war. This does not include the hundreds of thousands who died due to war-related hardships._[16]
Morocco offered the United States 2,000 monkeys trained in detonating land mines during the Iraq War._[10]
In 2002, the US government estimated that the Iraq War would cost $50-60 billion. When interest is factored in, war expenses will most likely exceed $6 trillion over the next 4 decades._[16]
During the Iraq War, 4,488 U.S. service personnel were directly killed. Another 32,223 were injured (this does not include those suffering from PTSD)._[16]
It cost $350,000 to deploy one American military member during the Iraq War._[14]

One in every five children in Iraq is still at serious risk of death, injury, sexual violence and recruitment into armed groups

The Iraq War directly and indirectly killed approximately a half-million Iraqis from 2003 to 2011._[17]
Reports show that the United States gained little from the Iraq War and that Iraq was traumatized by it. The war reinvigorated racial Islamist militants, set back women’s rights, and weakened an already fragile healthcare system._[12]
Approximately $550 million was lost in unaccounted for or stolen equipment during the Iraq War._[3]
One in 8 soldiers who returned from the Iraq War suffers from PTSD, but less than half with problems seek help._[1]
Approximately 20% of U.S. soldiers serving in the Iraq was wounded with serious brain or spinal injuries._[6]
The United States used 1.6 million gallons of oil during the War in Iraq—each day, at $127.68 a barrel._[14]
By 2008, the cost of the Iraq war for the US was $12 billion per month._[14]
The United States spent $20 billion annually on air conditioning costs during the Iraq War._[14]
President Bush made 231 unequivocally false statements that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Colin Powell comes in second, with 244 false statements. It is beyond dispute that Iraq did not have any such weapons before the Iraq War._[15]

One of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror.

- George W. Bush

The United States military listed as missing 190,000 guns in the Iraq War, including 110,000 AK-47s._[14]
The Iraq War led to the internal displacement of around 2.3 million Iraqis in 2008, with as many as 2 million Iraqis leaving the country._[12]
The Iraq War led to widespread poverty, which, in turn, led many Iraqi women to turn to prostitution to support themselves and families._[12]
The Center of Public Integrity reports that President Bush’s administration made at least 935 false statements in the 2 years following 9/11 about Iraq’s alleged threat to the United States._[15]
Several news organizations regret that they helped provide validation for the Bush administrations’ false statements before the Iraq War. They acknowledged their pre-war coverage was far too deferential and uncritical._[15]
A BBC investigation uncovered how much some private contractors profited from the Iraq war and its aftermath. They note that it is likely the “largest war profiteering in history.” A US gagging order is preventing any discussion of the allegations._[3]
The Iraq War is also called the Second Persian War. It lasted from 2003-2011._[12]

More than 300,000 coalition troops were deployed to the Gulf region during the Iraq War

Dick Cheney, the US vice president during the Iraq War, led a company called Halliburton. Unusually, Halliburton was awarded a $7 billion contract associated with the Iraq War, and ultimately, the company made $39.5 billion from the conflict._[3]
Pope John Paul II sent a letter to US president George Bush asking him not to invade Iraq. President Bush responded that he was convinced that going to war was “God’s will.”_[12]
In 2007, a US Marine serving in Iraq nursed a dog named Nubs back to health after it had been stabbed by a screwdriver. The two developed such a strong bond that when the Marine’s unit left, the dog followed him 70 miles through an Iraqi desert warzone to find him._[2]
The documents that proved Iraq was seeking nuclear weapons in 2002 were proved to be forgeries; however, the forger has never been caught._[12]

Saddam Hussein did not resist capture

Saddam Hussein was captured on December 13, 2003 on a farm near Tikrit during Operation Red Dawn. He was hiding in a narrow, dark hole beneath a two-room mud shack on a sheep farm._[13]
During the Iraq War, the U.S. military attached caged chickens on top of their Humvees to act as an early detection system for chemical weapons. They dubbed their strategy Operation Kuwaiti Field Chicken, or KFC._[4]
Wikileaks released nearly 400,000 files on the Iraq War, known as the Iraq War logs. It constitutes the largest leak of military secrets in the United States history._[5]
A controversial video called the “Collateral Murder,” shows a U.S. helicopter repeatedly opening fire on a group of men that included a Reuters photographer, his driver, and a van with two small children that stopped to help. Contrary to the Pentagon’s initial cover story, none of the members of the group were taking hostile action._[5]
Labour leadership frontrunner Jeremy Corbyn argued that the forthcoming publication of the Chilcot report could show that the Iraq War was illegal. If so, he argues that former prime minister Tony Blair should stand trial on charges of war crimes._[18]
An Iraq War veteran serving five life terms for raping and killing a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and killing her parents and sister says he didn’t think of Iraqi civilians as humans after being exposed to extreme wartime violence._[11]
Ahmed Chalabi, an Iraqi mathematician, banker, and spy, was accused of playing into Bush and Cheney’s desires to create the Iraq War. He has been called “the man who drove the U.S. to war in Iraq.”_[12]

Was George W. Bush's biggest blunder the Iraq War?

In 2003, the Bush administration predicted that the Iraq War would be a “cakewalk.” It turned into the second longest war involving American soldiers, after Vietnam._[12]
John Needham, a Purple Heart recipient and Iraq Veteran, allegedly brutally killed his girlfriend and died two years later from an overdose. Before he died, he was seeking treatment for PTSD and accused the US army of war crimes during the Iraq War. He said the atrocities of the Iraq War would haunt him forever._[7]
British war hero, James Harkess repeatedly put himself in mortal danger to save his fellow soldiers during the Iraq War. However, he was forced to sell his combat medals, including the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, to pay his bills when he became unable work after leaving the military._[9]
American soldier Jessica Lynch was captured during the Iraq War. Her subsequent rescue was the first successful rescue of an American prisoner of War since Vietnam and the first ever of a woman. She later accused the U.S. government of using her story as part of the Pentagon’s propaganda effort._[8]