Empire by the Numbers

Juan Cole 11/26/2011

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Number of Pakistani troops killed at checkpoint Saturday by a US helicopter raid from Afghanistan: 25

Number of NATO supply trucks allowed to cross from Pakistan to Afghanistan Saturday: 0

Number of Afghan children killed near Qandahar Wednesday by a US air strike: 6

Percentage of Pakistanis [pdf] who want US troops out of Afghanistan: 69

Number of US troops now in Iraq: 18,000

Number of US troops in Iraq at height of war: 170,000

Number of bases US built in Iraq: 505

Number to be turned over to Iraq: 505

Percentage of Arab publics expressing favorable view of US in 2011: 26

In 2010: 10

Increase in Pentagon budget today over that in Reagan’s first term (when US faced Soviet threat): 11 %

Number of US troops President Obama deployed to Uganda last month: 100

Likely cut in Pentagon budget as a result of failure of super-committee to reach budget deal: 20%

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page