Iraq
U.S. soldier in Al Asad, Iraq (June 11, 2007). DOD photo.
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RECENT ANALYSIS
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May 15, 2008
Analysis of House May 2008 Iraq-Afghanistan Supplemental War Funding Package
If the new $168.4 billion Iraq war funding supplemental is enacted into law, Congress will have approved approximately $864 billion in DOD, State/USAID, and VA funding for the Global War on Terror (GWOT) since 2001. This would cement Iraq and Afghanistan's place as the second costliest conflict in U.S. history. -
May 12, 2008
Guantanamo Has Given Us a Bad Name
In redefining the laws of war, the United States has overridden long-established international human rights law enshrined in United Nations detainment policies. -
Apr 17, 2008
Iraq War Senate Appropriations Hearing: Nussle's Nonsense Distorts the Record
On April 16, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing on Iraq war funding with Office of Management and Budget Director Jim Nussle. Senators had every right to be upset: Nussle's testimony was riddled with misleading half-truths and outright inaccuracies. - See more articles »
Iraq and Afghanistan war funding resources, including an updated tally of war costs to date Click here »
Before the U.S. invasion in 2003, warnings about an insurgency developing in Iraq after Saddam Hussein's regime fell were ignored by the Bush administration. Lacking training in counterinsurgency operations, U.S. armed forces initially used aggressive offensive tactics employing heavy firepower and ignored the two fundamental principles of counterinsurgency operations: create a secure environment for the civilian population and isolate the insurgents.
This initial lack of planning and strategy, along with an insufficient number of U.S. troops, stoked the insurgency. Tens, and possibly hundreds, of thousands of Iraqi civilian casualties have resulted, which in turn has produced an irreversible backlash of enmity and revenge toward U.S. troops from the families, friends, and other tribal members of the Iraqi dead and wounded.
While the long-term military effects of the "surge" remain uncertain, the Iraqi Parliament's inability to negotiate the political compromises necessary to stabilize the government casts a pall over any long-term prospects for success.
FACT SHEETS
Apr 9, 2008 Key Themes and Highlights from April 2008 Petraeus-Crocker Hearings
Apr 4, 2008 Ten Questions for General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker
Apr 2, 2008 Lieutenant General Robert Gard Sets the Record Straight on the Surge
Mar 5, 2008 Problems with Using the Supplemental Budget Process to Fund Ongoing Military Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan
Feb 15, 2008 Why Congress Should Press the Case for No Permanent Presence in Iraq
Jan 29, 2008 A Permanent Presence? Dangers of a Long-Term U.S. Security Commitment to Iraq
ADDITIONAL READING
- YouTube Video: The Cost of War in Iraq and Afghanistan
After recent congressional approval of $70 billion in additional spending for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the total cost of the conflict has reached $700 billion, not to mention thousands of American and Iraqi lives. - Legislation on Iraq in the 110th Congress
A detailed resource on bills introduced on Iraq during the 110th Congress, with links to THOMAS provided wherever possible. - Peter Galbraith, The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War Without End, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006.
- Congressional Research Service, "Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security," updated November 30, 2007.
- Congressional Research Service, "The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11," November 9, 2007.