Rising War Costs $5.8 Billion per month and rising

As casualties mount in Iraq, so has the monetary cost of the war. The military is now spending more than $5.8 billion each month, top officials told Congress this week.

The service chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps told the House Armed Service Committee that the price of war has jumped as fighting continues and reconstruction efforts are stymied by security concerns. And, in a few months, more money will be needed.

The Army, with about 110,000 soldiers on the ground in Iraq, has a monthly "burn rate" of $4.7 billion.

The Air Force is spending about $800 million monthly.

The Marines, which are spearheading the fighting in Fallujah, had an average monthly war cost of $300 million.

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To help understand how much money $5.8 billion is, think of it in $1 bills. That would be 5,800,000,000 bills, weighing nearly 12.8 million pounds. Stacked, the bills would reach more than 393 miles into space.

That's for one month.

Those of us who never endorsed this war should not have to fund it. We were lied to about it all along. We should be able to check off a box on our tax returns stipulating that our tax dollars will not go to pay for this war. I'm fine with having my taxes go to the military, but not for this war.