Not Just Because IKE Said So

In 1960 President Eisenhower foresaw the monumental dangers of what he described as the "military industrial complex." Eisenhower knew that the surge of defense contracts born in WWII left a number of high profile defense contractors, like Boeing, with the desire to insure the federal government would continue to rely their services.

Perhaps the nation should have listened. Eisenhower realized, well before his time, the "misplaced power" inherent in the pork-barrel relationships contractors actively pursue with members of congress. Defense contractors often segment production of particular weapons among different states in order to ensure a diverse base of congressional support for continuing the contractor's weapons program. (Defense contractors employ millions of Americans and members of Congress are relunctant to vote jobs out of their own districts.)

Eisenhower's Warning:

"The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persists. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties and democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert an knowledgeable citizen can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful message and goals so security and liberty may prosper together."

U.S. military killed in Iraq: 4,000

Number of U.S. troops wounded in combat since the war began: 29,203

Iraqi Security Force deaths: 7,924

Number of "Coalition of the Willing" soldiers in Iraq:

February 2008: 9,895

September 2006: 18,000

November 2004: 25,595

Army soldiers in Iraq who have served two or more tours: 74%

Number of Private Military Contractors in Iraq: 180,000

Number of Private Military Contractors criminally prosecuted by the U.S. government for violence or abuse in Iraq: 1

Number of contract workers killed: 917

The bill so far: $526 billion

Cost per day: $275 million

Cost per household: $4,100

The estimated long-term bill: $3 trillion

What $526 billion could have paid for in the U.S. in one year:

Children with health care: 223 million or

Scholarships for university students: 86 million or

Head Start places for children: 72 million

Cost of 22 days in Iraq could safeguard our nation's ports from attack for ten years.

Cost of 18 hours in Iraq could secure U.S. chemical plants for five years.

*U.S. unemployment during the Great Depression: 25%

What the Iraq war has created, according to the U.S. National Intelligence Council: "A training and recruitment ground (for terrorists), and an opportunity for terrorists to enhance their technical skills."

70% of the Iraqi population is without access to clean water.

80% is without sanitation.

90% of Iraq's 180 hospitals lack basic medical and surgical supplies.

79% of Iraqis oppose the presence of Coalition Forces.

78% of Iraqis believe things are going badly in Iraq overall.

64% of Americans oppose the war in Iraq.

• Iraqi civilians killed: Estimates range from 81,632-1,120,000
• Internally displaced refugees in Iraq: 3.4 million
• Iraqi refugees living abroad: 2.2-2.4 million
• Iraqi refugees admitted to the U.S.: 3,222
• Number of U.S. soldiers in Iraq: 155,000

Institute for Policy Studies.