'Mission Accomplished,' Four Years Later
On the anniversary of the infamous speech, a look at the data -- then vs now.
May 1, 2007 — -- The moment is etched in America's collective memory: On May 1, 2003, the president landed on an aircraft carrier, in full flight gear with a "Mission Accomplished" sign flapping in the wind and announced the end of "major combat operations in Iraq."
It is easy to look back with the benefit of hindsight and critique President Bush's announcement. But we'll leave that to the pundits. Here, we take a look at the reality of how far we have come in Iraq -- or haven't -- in cold, hard numbers.
In May 2003 Bush had reason to be jubilant. Saddam Hussein had been ousted. Coalition forces were facing little opposition. The American public was largely supportive of the war, and of the president -- 71 percent approved of Bush's overall job performance, according to an ABC/Washington Post poll released May 1, 2003.
Today the numbers tell a different story. Bush's approval rating stands at 35 percent, according to the latest ABC/Washington Post poll from April 15, 2007, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Here, a side-by-side comparison of key economic and military figures.
"Mission Accomplished" or "Mission Continued"? You decide:
ECONOMY
Iraq GDP (U.S. $billions):
2003: $14
2006: $49 (projected)
GDP Growth Rate:
2003: 47 percent
2007: 4 percent
Unemployment:
2003: 37 percent
2007: 33 percent
New businesses (according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce):
2003: 8,000
2007: more than 34,000
Crude production (millions of barrels per day):
2003: 2.5 (estimated)
2007: 2.08
Crude export (millions of barrels per day):
2003: 1.7-2.5 (estimated)
2007: 1.5
DAILY LIFE
Electricity Supply (average megawatts):
2003: 3800
2007: 3500
Household Fuel Supplies (percent of estimated need):
2003: 78 percent
2007: 54 percent
Telephone Subscribers (in millions):
2003: 0.9
2007: 10.1
Internet Subscribers (Does not include unregulated users at Internet cafes):
2003: 4,500 (estimated)
2006: 197,310
Independent Newspapers and Magazines:
2003: 0
2006: 268
Ambulance drivers in Baghdad:
2003: 80
2007: 400
Elementary School Attendance Rate:
2004: 75 percent
2006: 30 percent
2007 Conditions:
Schools rehabilitated since 2003: 3,000
Hospitals built since invasion: 0
Doctors and pharmacists murdered: 200 (approximately)
Doctors who have fled abroad: 15,000 (approximately)
Access to clean drinking water: 32 percent
Access to a good sewage system: 19 percent
Number of Iraqis reporting multiple signs of possible traumatic stress: 70 percent
Iraqis without potable water in April 2003 who were provided drinkable water by U.S. efforts (according to the U.S. government): 5.35 million (approximately)
SECURITY
Strength of U.S. Forces:
2003: 122,000
2007: 142,000
Total Iraqi Forces (Police, National Guard, Iraqi Armed Forces and Border Patrol):
2003: 99,600
2007: 328,700
Estimated Strength of Insurgents:
2003: 4,000
2007: 70,000
Coalition/Iraqi Daily Patrols in Baghdad:
2003: 600
2007: 4,500
Iraqi Civilian Fatalities (all violent causes):
2003: 1,200
2007: 2,200
Internally displaced people in Iraq (cumulative figures):
2003: 100,000
2007: 650,000
2007 Conditions:
Iraqis who say someone in their own household has been harmed by current violence: 17 percent
Percentage of Iraqi professional class to leave the country since 2003 (as of June '06): 40 percent
Estimated number of Iraqis who have fled the country: 2,000,000
Iraqis who say they would leave the country if they could: 30 percent
Figures courtesy of Brookings Institution and ABC News except where otherwise noted.