The National Priorities Project who has tracked the cost of the Iraq War since the start of the United States invasion--now at $451,718,601,642 and increasing by the second--has released an updated fact sheet outlining the cost of war for the state of Michigan. According to their analysis, the Iraq War has cost Michigan $12.1 billion, along with the lives of 138 soldiers killed and 875 wounded from Michigan. The price tag--in both dollars and lives--will continue to rise as Congress maintains the occupation and as interest payments and spending on veterans' health care disability payments continue.

The fact sheet also highlights the fact that the war has cost residents of the 3rd Congressional District that includes Grand Rapids at least $818 million dollars. According to the National Priorities Project's analysis, that money could have paid for healthcare for 139,738 children for the duration of the Iraq War, 6,595 affordable housing units, or 74 elementary schools. The cost of the war to the city of Grand Rapids (http://www.costofwar.com/) has been estimated to be at least $236,523,931.

These costs have apparently been ignored by Republican Representative Vern Ehlers who represents the Third District. Over the past week, Ehlers--who was questioned about whether or not he would support cutting funding for the war--has refused to do so. Instead, Ehlers has claimed that he initially had "deep reservations" about the war and is unhappy without how it has gone, but has stated that it will be a "bloodbath" if the United States leaves. Ehlers has further said that he will not be influenced by demonstrations but rather will be "swayed by facts."

Despite Ehlers' claims, there are numerous "facts" that suggest the United States' presence in Iraq is doing nothing for the Iraqi people. The National Priorities Project highlights a few:

• Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been killed.
• Over 2 million Iraqis have been displaced in Iraq.
• Another 2 million Iraqis are refugees in other countries.
• There are an average of 163 daily attacks by insurgents and militia was recorded in May, 2007--roughly twice the average one year earlier--while daily attacks in Baghdad increased from28.9 to 50.7 attacks per day, despite the recent "surge". Meanwhile, Baghdad residents receive on average only 5.6 hours of electricity per day.
• Apart from the tens
of thousands of reported U.S. casualties, nearly one in five returning veterans suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. More than 60 percent of Iraqis approved of attacking US-led forces and almost 80 percent of Iraqis believe that the U.S. military presence is provoking more conflict than it is preventing.