Iraq War Troops and Costs.

It is difficult to nail down current troop levels -- both for U.S. forces and coalition forces. The numbers are constantly fluctuating as troops are rotated in and out of the theater of operations.

That said, it can be fairly estimated that about one-quarter of the troops in the first Iraq war in 1991 were supplied by U.S. allies. In the current war, it's about 15 percent.

The difference in the cost of both wars is even more substantial. In the 1991 Iraq war, the U.S. incurred $8 billion in expenses -- and our allies paid $53 billion. In the current Iraq War, the U.S. has spent $144.4 billion (to date). Before the war began, George W. Bush secured pledges of only $1.4 billion to offset the U.S. cost. This indicates one of two things (or, perhaps, both). The first President Bush understood diplomacy and our place in a global community a lot better than his son. Or/and the rest of the world saw the first Iraq war as justifiable, while it saw the second Iraq war as unworthy.

Troops and Costs: 1991 Iraq War vs. Current Iraq War

Sources: U.S. Dept. of Defense
CNN, "A Decade Since Desert Storm"
New York Times, August 10, 2004