Maybe the way to end the war in Iraq is to declare that the country can't afford it.

Three events this week should cause Americans to worry deeply about the escalating cost.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked Congress for nearly $190 billion for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan for next year. That's an increase of one-third from initial projections.

Meanwhile, the Government Accountability Office released a report on how the Pentagon is resolving the scandalous treatment of soldiers injured in the war.

After promising immediate improvements following the Washington Post report on the shoddy treatment soldiers received at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, military medical care is still poor, the GAO said.

Nearly half of the returning service members eligible for service are not receiving it. The reason is staffing shortages.

Then there is the expanded State Children's Health Insurance Program that Congress is on the way to passing. President Bush says he will veto the bill that would add 4 million children to the insurance rolls. Why? He says the nation can't afford the cost. It's too expensive.

The war is costing $200 million a day. The total cost is well past $450 billion and some experts say it may go to more than $1 trillion.

It's time to get out of Iraq to save lives and to keep the nation from going broke fighting an enemy that didn't exist before the invasion.

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