Battlefield breakdown: The full price of war in Iraq

June 27, 2007
Battlefield breakdown: The full price of war in Iraq

Four years into the war, the costs in lives and money are dear.

The human toll: More than 3,500 Americans have died in Iraq; more than 25,000 have been wounded.

The financial cost: $500 billion in spending, at a rate now of more than $2 billion a week.

There is another price: More than two-thirds of active duty Army brigades are rated not ready for their mission because of manpower or equipment shortages, most of which can be directly attributed to Iraq. It is a readiness domino effect.

The numbers for the National Guard are even more alarming: Nearly 90 percent of Guard units not in Iraq are rated not ready for missions.

"Right now the United States does not have any depth of strategic reserve in our ground forces," military analyst Michelle Flournoy says. "Meaning we don't have ground forces ready and willing to deter a conflict or keep a small problem small."