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'It takes money to kill bad guys': Pentagon requests $200bn from Congress for Iran war
Middle East Eye·🕐 1 gün önce·👁 1 görüntülenme
'It takes money to kill bad guys': Pentagon requests $200bn from Congress for Iran war Yasmine El-Sabawi on Thu, 03/19/2026 - 19:12 It comes as Trump says he will not put boots on the ground, but most Americans don't believe him Protesters mark the 23rd anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, outside a military recruiting station in Times Square, New York City, on 19 March 2026 (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters) Off The Pentagon is seeking $200bn from Congress to cover US costs for the war on Iran. The figure was first revealed by The Washington Post, citing unnamed officials, but was not disputed by either Secretary of War Pete Hegseth or President Donald Trump on Thursday. "It takes money to kill bad guys," Hegseth told reporters. "So we're going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we're properly funded for what's been done, for what we may have to do in the future, ensure that our ammunition... everything's refilled, and not just refilled, but above and beyond," he said. Trump, sitting alongside the Japanese prime minister at the White House, called the move a "small price to pay to make sure that we stay tippy top". (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Too much of the country's weapons had either been left behind in Afghanistan or given away to Ukraine, he said, adding that he has convinced some of the top arms manufacturers to ramp up production. "Raytheon is building four factories. Lockheed [Martin] is building five or six factories, and they're building them fast, because we had a very tough meeting with them," Trump said. Also on Thursday, the Department of State notified Congress of munitions sales to the UAE, Kuwait, and Jordan, in a bid to restock their defence capability as they bear the brunt of Iran's retaliatory air strikes. The UAE will receive drones, long-range discrimination radar as part of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system; Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles; small diameter bombs; Joint Direct Attack Munition guidance sets; and several other tactical training equipment and spare parts. The cost is more than $8bn. Kuwait will receive Lower-Tier Air and Missile Defence Sensor radars; Large Tactical Power Systems; and frequency converters to protect its skies at a cost of $8bn. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Jordan is spending $70.5m on spare parts and repairs for its fleet of F-16, C-130, and F-5 aircraft to support US Central Command's "security objectives in the region". Secretary of State Marco Rubio waived the congressional review requirements for these foreign military sales, citing an emergency that is in the interest of US security. 'Excursion' The administration's moves very much suggest this will be a protracted war, but the president has also been trying to make declarations that can - at least temporarily - calm the volatile markets. ‘Clumsy’: Tit-for-tat strikes on energy assets gift Iran another tactical lever Read More » "It's going to be over with pretty soon," he said on Thursday, after Japan's Sanae Takaichi expressed her hope for a diplomatic resolution. Trump called the war on Iran an "excursion" for the US. "I'm not putting troops anywhere. If I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you, but I'm not putting troops," he said. "I saw what was happening in Iran, and I said, I hate to make this excursion, but we have to do it. And I actually thought the [oil price] numbers would be worse. I thought that it would go up more than it did, but we're doing this excursion, and when it's completed, we're going to have a much safer world," Trump insisted. "And the prime minister agrees with me on this." A new Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday shows that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe Trump will, in fact, order troops into a large-scale ground war in Iran. Only seven percent of respondents supported the idea. The poll showed Trump's approval rating increased by one percentage point to 40 percent, compared to his 39 percent approval rating at the start of the war on 28 February. Qatar loses patience Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - who was confirmed very much alive despite the swirling social media rumours - acknowledged in a national broadcast on Thursday that Israel alone was responsible for the attack on the South Pars natural gas field, which is a critical lifeline for Iran that provides 80 percent of its domestically consumed energy. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); In return, Iran is said to have struck Qatar’s Ras Laffan natural gas facility with missiles that caused extensive damage, QatarEnergy's CEO, Saad al-Kaabi, told the Reuters news agency on Thursday. Netanyahu said Trump has asked him to suspend any such future attacks. Trump had, just hours earlier, posted to his TruthSocial account that he had no idea Israel would effectively escalate the war to that extent, thus roping in Qatar - a particularly close ally that Trump wants to keep onside. On Thursday, Qatar became the first Gulf nation to call for an "immediate" end to the US-Israeli war on Iran, with no preconditions. A Demand Progress and IMEU Policy Project poll released on Thursday shows that 56 percent of US voters believe war with Iran benefits Israel far more than it benefits their own country. Netanyahu insists he is 'winning' Netanyahu insisted that Israel is "winning" while "Iran is being decimated". The country no longer has the capacity to enrich uranium or make ballistic missiles after nearly three weeks of unrelenting US-Israeli air strikes, he said. While he provided no evidence, he said what Israel is destroying now "are the factories that produce the components to make these missiles and to make the nuclear weapons that they're trying to produce". Ras Laffan: How Qatar gas hub attack is hitting Asia and beyond Read More » Iran has long maintained that it is not out to create a nuclear bomb. It has, however, used its leverage to choke off the Strait of Hormuz - a far more realistic threat that Trump seemed to indicate he wasn't fully prepared for before he launched the war. "We need alternative routes instead of the Hormuz strait," Netanyahu said in his remarks. "We should have oil and gas pipelines going west through the Arabian Peninsula, right up to our ports in Israel." While they may be a potential alternative, pipelines cannot carry the same volume of oil as tankers at sea. Pipeline cooperation would also suggest the peninsula normalise its relations with Israel - a prospect that seems more and more remote as Israel wages its "seven-front war" in the region, with few red lines. No nations have stepped up to offer Trump military escorts through the Strait, but on Thursday, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan all issued a joint statement expressing "readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait". It was unclear what "appropriate" would constitute. "We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning," the statement read. The countries said they welcomed the United Nations' nuclear watchdog authorising a coordinated release of strategic petroleum reserves. "We will take other steps to stabilise energy markets, including working with certain producing nations to increase output," the statement read. "Maritime security and freedom of navigation benefit all countries. We call on all states to respect international law and uphold the fundamental principles of international prosperity and security." War on Iran Washington News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
The Pentagon is seeking $200bn from Congress to cover US costs for the war on Iran. The figure was first revealed by The Washington Post, citing unnamed officials, but was not disputed by either Secretary of War Pete Hegseth or President Donald Trump on Thursday."It takes money to kill bad guys," Hegseth told reporters. "So we're going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we're properly funded for what's been done, for what we may have to do in the future, ensure that our ammunition... everything's refilled, and not just refilled, but above and beyond," he said. Trump, sitting alongside the Japanese prime minister at the White House, called the move a "small price to pay to make sure that we stay tippy top".Too much of the country's weapons had either been left behind in Afghanistan or given away to Ukraine, he said, adding that he has convinced some of the top arms manufacturers to ramp up production."Raytheon is building four factories. Lockheed [Martin] is building five or six factories, and they're building them fast, because we had a very tough meeting with them," Trump said.Also on Thursday, the Department of State notified Congress of munitions sales to the UAE, Kuwait, and Jordan, in a bid to restock their defence capability as they bear the brunt of Iran's retaliatory air strikes.The UAE will receive drones, long-range discrimination radar as part of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system; Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles; small diameter bombs; Joint Direct Attack Munition guidance sets; and several other tactical training equipment and spare parts. The cost is more than $8bn.Kuwait will receive Lower-Tier Air and Missile Defence Sensor radars; Large Tactical Power Systems; and frequency converters to protect its skies at a cost of $8bn.Jordan is spending $70.5m on spare parts and repairs for its fleet of F-16, C-130, and F-5 aircraft to support US Central Command's "security objectives in the region".Secretary of State Marco Rubio waived the congressional review requirements for these foreign military sales, citing an emergency that is in the interest of US security. The administration's moves very much suggest this will be a protracted war, but the president has also been trying to make declarations that can - at least temporarily - calm the volatile markets. "It's going to be over with pretty soon," he said on Thursday, after Japan's Sanae Takaichi expressed her hope for a diplomatic resolution. Trump called the war on Iran an "excursion" for the US. "I'm not putting troops anywhere. If I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you, but I'm not putting troops," he said. "I saw what was happening in Iran, and I said, I hate to make this excursion, but we have to do it. And I actually thought the [oil price] numbers would be worse. I thought that it would go up more than it did, but we're doing this excursion, and when it's completed, we're going to have a much safer world," Trump insisted. "And the prime minister agrees with me on this."A new Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday shows that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe Trump will, in fact, order troops into a large-scale ground war in Iran.Only seven percent of respondents supported the idea. The poll showed Trump's approval rating increased by one percentage point to 40 percent, compared to his 39 percent approval rating at the start of the war on 28 February. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - who was confirmed very much alive despite the swirling social media rumours - acknowledged in a national broadcast on Thursday that Israel alone was responsible for the attack on the South Pars natural gas field, which is a critical lifeline for Iran that provides 80 percent of its domestically consumed energy. In return, Iran is said to have struck Qatar’s Ras Laffan natural gas facility with missiles that caused extensive damage, QatarEnergy's CEO, Saad al-Kaabi, told the Reuters news agency on Thursday.Netanyahu said Trump has asked him to suspend any such future attacks. Trump had, just hours earlier, posted to his TruthSocial account that he had no idea Israel would effectively escalate the war to that extent, thus roping in Qatar - a particularly close ally that Trump wants to keep onside. On Thursday, Qatar became the first Gulf nation to call for an "immediate" end to the US-Israeli war on Iran, with no preconditions. A Demand Progress and IMEU Policy Project poll released on Thursday shows that 56 percent of US voters believe war with Iran benefits Israel far more than it benefits their own country.Netanyahu insisted that Israel is "winning" while "Iran is being decimated".The country no longer has the capacity to enrich uranium or make ballistic missiles after nearly three weeks of unrelenting US-Israeli air strikes, he said. While he provided no evidence, he said what Israel is destroying now "are the factories that produce the components to make these missiles and to make the nuclear weapons that they're trying to produce".Iran has long maintained that it is not out to create a nuclear bomb. It has, however, used its leverage to choke off the Strait of Hormuz - a far more realistic threat that Trump seemed to indicate he wasn't fully prepared for before he launched the war."We need alternative routes instead of the Hormuz strait," Netanyahu said in his remarks. "We should have oil and gas pipelines going west through the Arabian Peninsula, right up to our ports in Israel."While they may be a potential alternative, pipelines cannot carry the same volume of oil as tankers at sea. Pipeline cooperation would also suggest the peninsula normalise its relations with Israel - a prospect that seems more and more remote as Israel wages its "seven-front war" in the region, with few red lines. No nations have stepped up to offer Trump military escorts through the Strait, but on Thursday, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan all issued a joint statement expressing "readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait". It was unclear what "appropriate" would constitute."We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning," the statement read.The countries said they welcomed the United Nations' nuclear watchdog authorising a coordinated release of strategic petroleum reserves."We will take other steps to stabilise energy markets, including working with certain producing nations to increase output," the statement read."Maritime security and freedom of navigation benefit all countries. We call on all states to respect international law and uphold the fundamental principles of international prosperity and security."
