Baltimore Sun November 13, 2002
THE TUG OF WAR; A SUMMING UP
By Gary DorseyAn occasional feature looking at news topics through the numbers
Number of countries in the Allied Coalition in the 1991 Persian Gulf War: 34
Number of countries in 2002: 0
Americans in November 2001 who favored a ground invasion of Iraq: 74 percent
Americans in November 2002 who favored a ground invasion of Iraq: 59 percent
Americans in January 1990 who favored military action against Iraq: 57 percent
Saddam Hussein's favorite films: The Godfather series; The Old Man and the Sea
George W. Bush's favorite films: Cool Hand Luke; Austin Powers series
George W. Bush's favorite drink: Diet soda
Saddam Hussein's favorite wine: Mateus rose
Number of couples married in mass weddings on Saddam Hussein's birthday this April: 300
Saddam Hussein's relationship to his wife: First cousin
Number of Saddam Hussein's "presidential palaces" in Iraq: 57
Size of Iraqi Army in 1990: 955,000
Size of Iraqi Army in 2002: 375,000
Number of Republican Guard stationed around Baghdad: 80,000
Number of Special Republican Guard security force inside Baghdad: 25,000 to 35,000
Estimate of U.S. troops needed for an attack on Iraq: 250,000
Number of warplanes in Iraqi arsenal: 316
Estimated number disabled for lack of parts: More than half
Number of Iraqis who deserted or surrendered in the gulf war: about 200,000
Prize money offered Iraqi troops since 1999 to take down a U.S. aircraft: $14,000
Number of U.S. aircraft destroyed: 0
Oil price increase following the 1973-1974 Arab oil embargo: 103 percent
Length of recession that followed: 16 months
Oil price increase following the 1979-1980 Iran hostage crisis: 70 percent
Length of recession that followed: 6 months
Length of recession that followed: 16 months
Oil price increase that followed build-up to the gulf war: 26 percent
Length of recession that followed: 16 months
Americans who prefer politicians talk about the economy than war with Iraq: 70 percent
U.S. energy consumption in 1973: 75.8 quadrillion Btu
U.S. energy consumption in 2000: 98.5 quadrillion Btu
Percentage of U.S. energy needs supplied by oil imports in 1973: 18
Percentage of current U.S. energy needs supplied by oil imports: 24
Country with the world's largest proven oil reserves: Saudi Arabia
Country with the world's second largest proven oil reserves: Iraq
Percentage of U.S. voters who chose Bush for president in 2000: 48
Percentage of Iraqi voters who chose Hussein for president in 2002: 100
Saddam Hussein's campaign theme song: Whitney Houston's "I Will Al ways Love You"
Percentage of Britons naming Saddam Hussein the greatest threat to world peace: 43 percent
Britons naming George W. Bush as the greatest threat: 37 percent
French in September naming Iraq the country that "most seriously threatens world peace": 62 percent
French who named the United States: 35 percent
Participants in Denver peace rally Sept. 28: 1,500
Participants in London peace rally Sept. 28: 150,000
Participants in Washington peace rally: Oct. 26: 100,000
Participants in Florence, Italy, peace rally Nov. 9: close to 500,000
Americans favoring an end to Saddam Hussein's rule of Iraq: 64 percent
Americans favoring an end to rule without backing of allies: 33 percent
Gross Domestic Product for Iraq, 2000: $57 billion
Gross Domestic Product for United States, 2000: $9.963 trillion
Iraqis now living in exile: one in five
Iraqis killed in war or government purges since Saddam Hussein took office in 1979: about 700,000
Cost of war in Afghanistan for fiscal year ending September 2002: $12.6 billion
Projected cost for 2003: $7.2 billion to $9 billion
Number of bombs dropped in Afghanistan war: 21,000
American forces still in Afghanistan: 9,000
Size of U.S. occupation force needed after a war with Iraq: 50,000 to 75,000
Estimated cost of occupation for postwar security forces and reconstruction: $17 billion
Amount of chemical agents already destroyed by United Nations inspectors in Iraq: 500,000 liters
Estimated amount of anthrax growth culture unaccounted for in previous weapons inspections: 17 tons
Current time of the "Doomsday Clock" symbolizing nuclear danger: seven minutes till midnight.
Time of the "Doomsday Clock" when it debuted in 1947: seven minutes till midnight.
Sun researcher Shelia Jackson contributed to this article.
(Sources: USA Today; Pew Research Center; The New York Times; International Institute for Strategic Studies; National Bureau of Economic Research; U.S. Energy Information Administration; Robert Samuelson, Newsweek; Air Force Magazine; US News & World Report; The Boston Herald; Mark Bowden, The Atlantic Monthly; Gallup Poll; The Associated Press; NOP Research Group; The Guardian; Reuters News Agency; The Rocky Mountain News; Xinhua News Agency; The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists; Michael Rubin, American Enterprise Institute; GlobalSecurity.org; Brookings Institute; James Fallows, The Atlantic Monthly; Time Magazine; CIA.)
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