Now and then
° A comparison of war-related statistics and polls, at the time the war started in March 2003 and now:
President Bush's job performance.
Then: About two-thirds of Americans approved of Bush's job performance at the time the United States went to war in Iraq.
l Now: Bush's job approval rating ranges from the high 40s to the low 50s.
Opinions about whether the war was worth fighting.
l Then: When Americans were asked in April 2003 if the war in Iraq was worth fighting, seven in 10 said yes, and a quarter said no.
l Now: People are evenly divided on that question in some polls. In others, slightly more than half say it was worth fighting.
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Opinions about how Bush handled the situation in Iraq.
l Then: When Americans were asked in April if they approved or disapproved of the way Bush was handling the situation in Iraq, three-fourths said they approved, almost a fourth disapproved.
l Now: Americans are evenly divided.
Number of U.S. troops killed.
l Then: During the two months of major hostilities, March and April of 2003, the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq averaged 69 a month.
l Now: Since the end of major combat operations May 1, the number of U.S. deaths has averaged 41 a month.
Number of troops in Iraq.
l Then: When the invasion was launched, there were about 250,000 troops arrayed against Iraq. That included about 100,000 U.S. Army and Marine Corps ground forces that invaded from Kuwait, plus air forces throughout the region and naval forces in the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Sea. The total also included about 30,000 British troops.
l Now: There are about 120,000 U.S. forces in Iraq, plus roughly 20,000 in neighboring Kuwait, plus about 30,000 to 40,000 international troops on the ground in Iraq. In other words, there are more ground troops in Iraq now than were used during the initial invasion.
Number of U.S. reserves in Iraq.
l Then: The Pentagon will not provide an official total for National Guard and Reserve troops in Iraq, in part because it tracks the numbers only by "theater," meaning it doesn't distinguish between Iraq and Kuwait where there are thousands of reservists in support roles. However, outside experts estimate there were 30,000 to 35,000 Guard and Reserve troops involved at the start of the war.
l Now: There are roughly 50,000 to 55,000 Guard and Reserve troops in Iraq, outside experts estimate.
Cost of war and reconstruction.
l Then: The Pentagon has never given a cost figure specifically for the March-April combat period in Iraq. It says $56 billion was spent overall during calendar year 2003, from Jan. 1, 2003, through Dec. 31. The troop and supply buildup preceding the war began in January 2003.
l Now: The continuing military operations in Iraq are costing about $4 billion a month, on average, according to the Pentagon.
U.S. federal government deficit.
l Then: As the war was beginning, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the fiscal year 2003 deficit would be $246 billion. The actual 2003 deficit ended up being a record $375 billion, because of war costs and a tax cut approved later in the spring.
l Now: The CBO has projected that the 2004 deficit will be $477 billion.
Sources: Poll results come from CNN-USA Today-Gallup, ABC-Washington Post and Associated Press-Ipsos. Other information comes from the Pentagon and U.S. congressional and budget officials. Compiled by The Associated Press.
