I mean, the $25 billion figure comes from an administration that lies compulsively and from a department in the DoD that has failed eight consecutive audits. Ain't no way it was going to be accurate. It's still alarming, though, that the gulf between what Pop Info has observed and what Hegseth told Congress is more than the amount he's citing itself.
Only last month Trump asked Congress for another $400 billion for defense. The month before that, Hegseth asked for $200 billion for the war.
The only explanations for Keggie's ridiculous lowball estimate, are that: A) He's lying through his fricking teeth; or that B) he's utterly clueless about what US smart munitions actually cost.
Also: Judd's estimates that $11 BILLION in American military assets have been destroyed--or damaged beyond repair--is absolutely staggering. Dems should be all over this one.
It's pretty clear that we joined the Israelis in our surprise attack on Iran before sufficient military assets had been assembled in-theatre. Heggie basically had a premature military ejaculation. Our Gulf bases had inadequate anti-air capabilities; and there wasn't a single functioning minesweeper on station.
When Hegseth and Caine appeared to defend & explain the funding request they were challenged on a number of things including the $25Billion figure. I remember at one point it came out that replacing destroyed equipment was not included. Ro Khanna challenged him on numerous costs - including the prices of gasoline for civilians these days. PBS reported that congressmen had expected a cost closer to $100 Billion.
Overall I can sum up Hegseth’s answers & attitude on any given day like this: “The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,” Hegseth said.
All their answers have misdirection, loopholes or well get that to you later.
If they are lying about munitions and operational costs, they are lying about American deaths. Is there any precedent for this? Has the American public been lied to about war casualties before?
Am I naive? I remember the death count every night on TV during the Vietnam War. We were told how many American soldiers had died that day (or the day before) and how many Vietnamese had been killed. Those numbers were never low, never. For the next long wars, like Afghanistan and Iraq, I know the government refused to show caskets being unloaded from the cargo planes but gave us death counts fairly regularly, especially after big battles. What am I missing? I believe strongly that there are many unreported deaths of American soldiers.
I can definitely see where sarcasm would be warranted re: Nixon, Kissinger and Vietnam. We know we were lied to but about soldier's deaths? As an amateur historian I look forward to all the books that will be written about this era by intrepid investigators who dig for the truth. We are going to have a lot of questions answered and gaping holes of truth filled.
Now I'm remembering that one soldier was shot in a firing squad in WWII for desertion to make an example of, but the army was immediately shamed and kept it quiet. I think his widow was told he died in dishonorable circumstances and her widow's pension was withheld. It took a reporter with an ear to the ground a decade or so later to find the story and report it.
We didn’t have social media then so it was more difficult to catch them. But I remember guys home on leave saying that reports that certain battles had no US casualties was wrong along with other details.
I think what we have now is changing the categories that are included. For instance someone stationed in the area who wasn’t directly involved in hostile actions when injured is not counted. That is what they are doing for injuries to keep the casualty numbers down. Ex: “ More than 200 sailors were treated for smoke inhalation and returned to duty, two sources familiar with the fire response told USNI News.”
That 200 is not included in the 200-300 wound/injured count we keep getting from DOD.
Especially of the wounded who later die of their wounds.
And scant attention is paid to the significant percentage of wounded who are crippled in one way or another, invalided out of the service, and end up under VA care for the rest of their lives.
The now $8 TRILLION Boston University estimate of the cost of the GOP wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has risen so high because of the extremely high and ongoing costs to Social Security and the VA of the wounded servicemembers who fought in those conflicts.
The $25B figure is the product of a defactualized mind, agency, and administration. As you alluded to, this estimate was designed to provide a sense of scale for the falsehoods. Thanks for reading!
Seventy-two billion dollars in sixty days. One-point-two billion a day.
The Pentagon told Congress twenty-five, then leaked fifty, and the real number is north of seventy. They cannot even keep their own lies aligned for forty-eight hours.
Ask what the money bought….
Dead civilians. A wrecked nonproliferation regime. A region more unstable than when we started. And the slow severing of the United States from the stable trade and security architecture it spent eighty years building, the one thing that ever justified the dollar’s place at the center of the world.
We did not buy a victory. We bought an exit ramp from our own hegemony, at retail.
The kicker is that this is only direct cost. No veterans’ care. No interest on the debt we floated to pay for it. No counting the allies who watched and quietly started pricing other options.
The bill for sixty days will be paid for sixty years.
That bad man Biden finally got a build bridges and roads bill through Congress and I cursed at road work for the next eighteen months until the work overlapped the election and the workers trickled down to nothing. How many tens of thousands of bridges in America need immediate repair? How many are closed? In my small town, there are two crosstown bridges closed indefinitely. Yes, local stuff, but that federal infrastructure money does help.
If the cost of the war were 0 it would still be a bad choice. Countries build nuclear weapons as a deterrence to attacks. Attacking them just incentivizes them to build them. JCPOA Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was a better plan than will ever be achieved going forward. America is heading for a future where we find ourselves unable to afford enough of the 6 million missiles to counter the overwhelming barrage of cheap drones. The idiots in charge are too stupid to see that modern warfare has changed.
Continuing to build millions of $1.2 million dollar apiece interceptors when drone warfare and Internet-based, electronic warfare is what's coming is a definite exercise in preparing to fight the last war instead of anticipating and preparing to fight and defend against what we will actually face. How, for example, would we fight against a massive number of highly explosive drones that were manufactured within the US from innocuous-seeming off the shelf parts and set loose by the millions all at the same time, a physical attack parallel to what we have freely allowed in our information systems without even acknowledging that we have been invaded? It's already the case that, with weasel news, and "conservative" Internet, foreign-owned forces have accomplished internal division and destruction within the United States that a physical military invasion could never have managed, but we're completely oblivious to the danger.
No one outside of the Fox bubble believed the $25B number. Why should they? Hegseth, like everyone associated with the Trump regime, lies about everything. I'm surprised that the real number isn't higher than the estimate you have provided.
As the article says, the real costs are much higher. The $72 billion is only an estimate of direct costs (which continue to increase every day). Indirect costs are bigger than the direct costs.
It is higher, much higher. Sometimes loss doesn't come with a price tag. So many comments here talk about the real cost: the broken alliances, the instability in the area, the hatred toward America, and yes, the karma when a schoolyard bully kicks another kid and then goes and kicks their puppy, too. The ripple effect over time of bad will and righteous hearts of vengeance...what, we are the only ones who can plan, proliferate and wait?
Thanks Judd for these figures. I never listen to anything anyone in this administration says since they lie constantly. Good to have a source with facts.
I am reminded of my late father. Armed with only a high school education, he often admonished me that "figures don't lie but liars figure". Things were simpler then but the only only thing that has changed is the size of the lie. But hey a billion here or a billion there and pretty soon you are talking real money.....
Great reporting Judd! Will be looking to see what major media’s pick up story. We are flying blind with the stooges in this White House. Joseph, Mark, and HM great points!
Spread the words from Judd’s investigative reporting.
You know those "war crimes and crimes against humanity" trials "people are saying" need to happen if and when this fever of debauchery passes? They really should include members of the Legislative Branch "advising and consenting" to these crimes.
I mean, the $25 billion figure comes from an administration that lies compulsively and from a department in the DoD that has failed eight consecutive audits. Ain't no way it was going to be accurate. It's still alarming, though, that the gulf between what Pop Info has observed and what Hegseth told Congress is more than the amount he's citing itself.
Only last month Trump asked Congress for another $400 billion for defense. The month before that, Hegseth asked for $200 billion for the war.
The only explanations for Keggie's ridiculous lowball estimate, are that: A) He's lying through his fricking teeth; or that B) he's utterly clueless about what US smart munitions actually cost.
Also: Judd's estimates that $11 BILLION in American military assets have been destroyed--or damaged beyond repair--is absolutely staggering. Dems should be all over this one.
It's pretty clear that we joined the Israelis in our surprise attack on Iran before sufficient military assets had been assembled in-theatre. Heggie basically had a premature military ejaculation. Our Gulf bases had inadequate anti-air capabilities; and there wasn't a single functioning minesweeper on station.
When Hegseth and Caine appeared to defend & explain the funding request they were challenged on a number of things including the $25Billion figure. I remember at one point it came out that replacing destroyed equipment was not included. Ro Khanna challenged him on numerous costs - including the prices of gasoline for civilians these days. PBS reported that congressmen had expected a cost closer to $100 Billion.
Overall I can sum up Hegseth’s answers & attitude on any given day like this: “The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,” Hegseth said.
All their answers have misdirection, loopholes or well get that to you later.
https://www.ms.now/news/trump-administration-withholds-iran-war-costs-but-wants-historic-441-billion-more-for-defense#:~:text=A%20recent%20estimate%20by%20congressional,separate%20funding%20request%20to%20Congress.
If they are lying about munitions and operational costs, they are lying about American deaths. Is there any precedent for this? Has the American public been lied to about war casualties before?
You're kidding right? This is sarcasm, correct?
Am I naive? I remember the death count every night on TV during the Vietnam War. We were told how many American soldiers had died that day (or the day before) and how many Vietnamese had been killed. Those numbers were never low, never. For the next long wars, like Afghanistan and Iraq, I know the government refused to show caskets being unloaded from the cargo planes but gave us death counts fairly regularly, especially after big battles. What am I missing? I believe strongly that there are many unreported deaths of American soldiers.
My comment was in support of the very last sentence of your reply.
Yes, those numbers have been underreported throughout our history.
I can definitely see where sarcasm would be warranted re: Nixon, Kissinger and Vietnam. We know we were lied to but about soldier's deaths? As an amateur historian I look forward to all the books that will be written about this era by intrepid investigators who dig for the truth. We are going to have a lot of questions answered and gaping holes of truth filled.
Now I'm remembering that one soldier was shot in a firing squad in WWII for desertion to make an example of, but the army was immediately shamed and kept it quiet. I think his widow was told he died in dishonorable circumstances and her widow's pension was withheld. It took a reporter with an ear to the ground a decade or so later to find the story and report it.
We didn’t have social media then so it was more difficult to catch them. But I remember guys home on leave saying that reports that certain battles had no US casualties was wrong along with other details.
I think what we have now is changing the categories that are included. For instance someone stationed in the area who wasn’t directly involved in hostile actions when injured is not counted. That is what they are doing for injuries to keep the casualty numbers down. Ex: “ More than 200 sailors were treated for smoke inhalation and returned to duty, two sources familiar with the fire response told USNI News.”
That 200 is not included in the 200-300 wound/injured count we keep getting from DOD.
https://news.usni.org/2026/03/17/uss-gerald-r-ford-headed-to-souda-bay-for-repairs-after-fire
Especially of the wounded who later die of their wounds.
And scant attention is paid to the significant percentage of wounded who are crippled in one way or another, invalided out of the service, and end up under VA care for the rest of their lives.
The now $8 TRILLION Boston University estimate of the cost of the GOP wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has risen so high because of the extremely high and ongoing costs to Social Security and the VA of the wounded servicemembers who fought in those conflicts.
The $25B figure is the product of a defactualized mind, agency, and administration. As you alluded to, this estimate was designed to provide a sense of scale for the falsehoods. Thanks for reading!
Note also the ever expanding amount required for the ballroom: plus it’s no longer “privately funded” but now requires a billion in taxpayer money!
Seventy-two billion dollars in sixty days. One-point-two billion a day.
The Pentagon told Congress twenty-five, then leaked fifty, and the real number is north of seventy. They cannot even keep their own lies aligned for forty-eight hours.
Ask what the money bought….
Dead civilians. A wrecked nonproliferation regime. A region more unstable than when we started. And the slow severing of the United States from the stable trade and security architecture it spent eighty years building, the one thing that ever justified the dollar’s place at the center of the world.
We did not buy a victory. We bought an exit ramp from our own hegemony, at retail.
The kicker is that this is only direct cost. No veterans’ care. No interest on the debt we floated to pay for it. No counting the allies who watched and quietly started pricing other options.
The bill for sixty days will be paid for sixty years.
Johan 🐌
Former foreign service officer
Well said, Johan. Thanks for reading.
The Trump Administration has spent $72 billion in two months on the Iran War.
Its 2027 budget for the Department of Education is $76.5 billion.
IOW, they've spent about six times as much bombing schools and making children homeless in Iran as they will spend educating children in the US.
well said
Baron Trump made $130+ million in one illegal stock market purchase. These people have no concept of money or anything resembling reality.
Trump said last week that we should all save money in gas by only driving downhill for Pete’s sake.
Delusional, demented, bonkers people who can’t even keep their lies straight.
Pete say $25M, Judd say $72B… can we agree those billions could fix a lot of roads& bridges, or dare I say it feed a lot of folks…
That bad man Biden finally got a build bridges and roads bill through Congress and I cursed at road work for the next eighteen months until the work overlapped the election and the workers trickled down to nothing. How many tens of thousands of bridges in America need immediate repair? How many are closed? In my small town, there are two crosstown bridges closed indefinitely. Yes, local stuff, but that federal infrastructure money does help.
If the cost of the war were 0 it would still be a bad choice. Countries build nuclear weapons as a deterrence to attacks. Attacking them just incentivizes them to build them. JCPOA Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was a better plan than will ever be achieved going forward. America is heading for a future where we find ourselves unable to afford enough of the 6 million missiles to counter the overwhelming barrage of cheap drones. The idiots in charge are too stupid to see that modern warfare has changed.
I fear that we will all see modern warfare before long. I know if I was an Iranian where my mind would be.
Continuing to build millions of $1.2 million dollar apiece interceptors when drone warfare and Internet-based, electronic warfare is what's coming is a definite exercise in preparing to fight the last war instead of anticipating and preparing to fight and defend against what we will actually face. How, for example, would we fight against a massive number of highly explosive drones that were manufactured within the US from innocuous-seeming off the shelf parts and set loose by the millions all at the same time, a physical attack parallel to what we have freely allowed in our information systems without even acknowledging that we have been invaded? It's already the case that, with weasel news, and "conservative" Internet, foreign-owned forces have accomplished internal division and destruction within the United States that a physical military invasion could never have managed, but we're completely oblivious to the danger.
I like your juxtaposition. "Russia! Russia! Russia!" The internal cost of losing the info-wars will be staggering.
No one outside of the Fox bubble believed the $25B number. Why should they? Hegseth, like everyone associated with the Trump regime, lies about everything. I'm surprised that the real number isn't higher than the estimate you have provided.
As the article says, the real costs are much higher. The $72 billion is only an estimate of direct costs (which continue to increase every day). Indirect costs are bigger than the direct costs.
It is higher, much higher. Sometimes loss doesn't come with a price tag. So many comments here talk about the real cost: the broken alliances, the instability in the area, the hatred toward America, and yes, the karma when a schoolyard bully kicks another kid and then goes and kicks their puppy, too. The ripple effect over time of bad will and righteous hearts of vengeance...what, we are the only ones who can plan, proliferate and wait?
Thanks Judd for these figures. I never listen to anything anyone in this administration says since they lie constantly. Good to have a source with facts.
or the GOP.
I’m sure DOGE is all over this.
With the iraq and afghanistan wars ending they had to make sure to fill the coffers of our favorite weapons manufacturers again!
Super important work, this is critical analysis
Thank you!
I am reminded of my late father. Armed with only a high school education, he often admonished me that "figures don't lie but liars figure". Things were simpler then but the only only thing that has changed is the size of the lie. But hey a billion here or a billion there and pretty soon you are talking real money.....
Great reporting Judd! Will be looking to see what major media’s pick up story. We are flying blind with the stooges in this White House. Joseph, Mark, and HM great points!
Spread the words from Judd’s investigative reporting.
Thank you, Robert! Spreading the word definitely helps.
You know those "war crimes and crimes against humanity" trials "people are saying" need to happen if and when this fever of debauchery passes? They really should include members of the Legislative Branch "advising and consenting" to these crimes.
This timeline sucks.
No one believed Hegseth, of course, but thank you for showing how he lied. This time.
Amazing numbers!
Thank you!
what that could have done for our country breaks my heart.... at least independent media gets the word out ....