The United States anti-war lobby has unveiled an anti-war billboard in the most prominent intersection in America - New York's Times Square.

The billboard features a constantly updated clock counting the cost of the Iraq war.

The clock started at $134.5 billion and is increasing at a rate of $177 million per day, $7.4 million per hour and $122,820 per minute.

The unveiling coincides with the release of a new analysis of the cost of the Iraq war, detailing how the $144.4 billion earmarked for Iraq might have funded multiple projects to make American safer at home and stronger abroad.

In terms of a simple effective mechanism for highlighting an issue, we think this is an outstanding success.