In last week's State of the Union address, President Bush intensified his demand for a war against Iraq. He says he will give diplomacy and inspections efforts "weeks, not months." Using a "Shock and Awe" strategy it likens to the nuclear attack on Hiroshima, the Pentagon plans to fire 800 cruise missiles at Baghdad - a densely populated city of nearly 5 million - in just the first two days of war.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bush's approval ratings erode almost in sync with the Dow. Many are wondering about the real costs of an Iraq war on a floundering U.S. economy.

• Fighting the war against terrorism has put the Pentagon $15 billion over budget. The U.S. military buildup in the Persian Gulf is adding massive un-budgeted costs - a billion dollars a week.
  
  
• The House Budget Committee assessed the full cost of a war against Iraq at $100 to $200 billion. Long-term costs could exceed $1.2 trillion.

Former UN chief arms inspector Richard Butler calls a U.S.-led attack a "double standard" that without similar efforts to curb weapons proliferation in all other nuclear nations would contradict international law and deepen the divide between the West and the Arab world. Former Gulf War General Norman Schwartzkopf is skeptical that war this time around would be fast and easily won.

Why is the U.S. preparing to attack Iraq when former top administration officials and high-ranking military officers alike ask, "Why Iraq? Why now?"