Pentagon Estimates Iran War Cost at $25 Billion

“The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans.” “How is this war going? Do you think we’re winning?” “Militarily, on the battlefield, it’s been an astounding military success.” “No, but are we winning the war?” “Absolutely.” “So what is the plan to actually turn all of this lethal kinetic action into an improvement in the nuclear situation? Because we haven’t gotten there yet.” “I would take issue with the premise of the question that nothing was done. Operation Midnight Hammer was a very effective —” “I didn’t say nothing was done. I said in this war —” “Their nuclear facilities have been obliterated.” “We had to start this war, you just said, 60 days ago because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat. Now you’re saying that it was completely obliterated?” “They had not given up their nuclear ambitions, and they had a conventional shield of thousands —” “So Operation Midnight Hammer accomplished nothing of substance. It left us at exactly the same place we were before.” “The $1.5 trillion budget will ensure the United States continues to maintain the world’s most powerful and capable military as we grapple with a complex threat environment.” “Approximately, at this day, we’re spending about $25 billion on Operation Epic Fury. Most of that is ammunitions. There’s part of that, it’s obviously O and M, and equipment replacement.” “And how much more do you anticipate spending?” “Well, as our comptroller laid out, the estimate is less than $25 billion at this point as far as an expenditure. And the question I would ask this committee is what is it worth to ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon?” “Supposedly, we have taken care of the nuclear capability last time around, and now this war, we’re at it again because obviously we said we did, but we didn’t.”