Harp On

Percentage change from 2004 to 2005 in the number of criminal violations by U.S. military recruiters: +106


Number of private firms that have been hired since 2002 to recruit soldiers for the Army: 7


Average amount the firms are paid per recruit: $5,700








Amount a 2006 defense bill authorized for a daylong “celebration” of “success” in Iraq and Afghanistan: $20,000,000



Date on which the authorization was extended to 2007: 9/30/06







Number of life-size photo cutouts of troops that Maine’s Army National Guard has given to relatives: 200



Chances that a Guantánamo detainee was turned over to Coalition forces by an Afghan or Pakistani citizen: 9 in 10



Average reward that leaflets airdropped over their countries promised for every “terrorist” turned in: $5,000





Amount a cable TV reporter paid a former Army interrogator to waterboard him in July: $800


Minutes into the waterboarding that a producer decided he had to stop it: 24





Number of incidences of torture on prime-time network TV shows from 2002 to 2005: 624


Number on shows the previous seven years: 110



Number of people the U.S. counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer personally killed last season on the TV show 24: 38







Harpers Index for Dec, 2006