Counting The Cost, Second By Second

A huge clock is now counting the cost of the Iraq war on a New York hotel facade, just a few blocks from where the GOP Convention will be held.

The "clock' was unveiled by the advocacy group Project Billboard and the Centre for American Progress, a liberal think tank headed by John Podesta, former President Bill Clinton's chief of staff.

Organisers calculated the war's cost currently at $US134.5 billion ($A191.3 billion) and are adding $US177 million ($A251.7 million) per day, which comes to $US7.4 million ($A10.5 million) per hour or $US122,820 ($A174,646) per minute.