Iraq Update: Bush by the Numbers

The Office of the Majority Leader released the following document:

A quick look at the past week's Iraq related events yields some interesting numbers. From President Bush's repeated use of the word strategy (5 times) while offering no new strategy, to Minority Leader Boehner's declaration that 3,775 American dead is a "small price to pay," Republicans once again showed Americans that they just don't get it:

0 = Number of times Bush said the word "victory" in his speech last night, despite the fact that "for more than four years since the invasion of Iraq, President Bush most often has defined his objective there with a single, stirring word: 'Victory.'" [LA Times, 9/14/07]

6 = Number of times he mentioned "progress", despite independent assessments that show little to no political progress

5 = Number of slogans created by the Bush Administration to mark a new strategy and phase in the war ("Mission Accomplished," "Stand Up, Stand Down," "Plan for Victory," "New Way Forward," "Return on Success")

12 = Number of times the President mentioned "success"/ "succeed" last night

0 = Number of times Ambassador Crocker guaranteed success in his Iraq testimony: "'I cannot guarantee success in Iraq...The challenges. . . are immense.'" [LA Times, 9/14/07]

5 = Number of times the President mentioned "strategy" last night

0 = Number of new strategies President Bush offered last night

5,700 = Number of U.S. forces coming home by the end of the year

3.5% = Percentage of U.S. forces in Iraq that will be returning home by the end of the year

130,000 = Number of troops that will remain in Iraq indefinitely

15 = Number of benchmarks the independent GAO report said the Iraq government failed to meet

1 = Number of benchmarks moved into the 'satisfactory' column between July 15 and September 15 (out of 18 total benchmarks) by the optimistic Bush report, 9 are still deemed as not satisfactory

36 = Number of nations President Bush said last night have troops on the ground in Iraq

25 = Actual number of nations with troops on the ground, according to the State Department

7% = Percentage of international forces in Iraq, compared to U.S. forces

12 = Number of times al-Qaeda was mentioned by President Bush

0 = Number of times General Petraeus said in his testimony that al-Qaeda is the primary threat in Iraq

3775 = Number of American casualties that Minority Leader Boehner said is a "small price to pay" in Iraq

Prepared by the Office of Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, 9/14/07