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U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

reuters.com

31–40 of 193 posts

Re: U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

#31
post #27
post #23

So what were they requesting $200 Billion for?

Maybe they expect this not war to last 7x longer? Have any of the not objectives for the not war been accomplished yet?

Funneling lots of money to the AI-Military industrial complex has been accomplished

Re: U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

#33
post #2

Wow, that's pretty cheap compared to all the AI datacenters.

Note that it doesn't count the cost of second- or third- order effects (like the cost from the price of oil going up by 50%). Since February 28, crude oil prices increases cost $42 billion in the United States alone.

Not to mention datacenters were bombed and, for specifically AI ones, the in-construction Stargate was threatened.

Re: U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

#34
post #18
post #4

Does anyone have the number that would have been required to pay off all student loans that SCOTUS blocked?

I’d be okay with them forgiving student loans so long as they also pay me back for what I paid back. I think the best course is to allow students to default on their loans. With backed loans Unis know they’ll get their money one way or the other and keep ballooning their admin costs.

Why does improving things for future generations need to be held up until we can undo mistakes already done? The ladder got pulled up and some of us needed to scramble, but can't we lower the ladder back down for them anyway?

We can do both. We can help people already saddled with debt, and also do things to prevent future generations from being saddled with debt in the first place. People who managed to climb out of the hole (a demographic I am also part of) are the least in need of consideration.

Re: U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

#35

The cost to operate the Federal government for one day is about $18 billion.

The entire NSF budget, our basic science infrastructure which is currently being destroyed by withholding grant funds against Congress' wishes, is only half of that. And Trump's budget cut it in half, Congress had to push back to avoid throwing away half of a carefully grown research industry.

Meanwhile Trump also wants to increase the daily allocation of military spending by $1.3B per day, to go to useless and unproductive contractors such as his son, rather than truly effective defense spending.

Re: U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

#36
post #2

Wow, that's pretty cheap compared to all the AI datacenters.

Note that it doesn't count the cost of second- or third- order effects (like the cost from the price of oil going up by 50%). Since February 28, crude oil prices increases cost $42 billion in the United States alone.

It's so odd to me that people think the cost of oil going up is universally bad. It's good both morally for me and financially for many people.

Re: U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

#37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Note that it doesn't count the cost of second- or third- order effects (like the cost from the price of oil going up by 50%). Since February 28, crude oil prices increases cost $42 billion in the United States alone.

to be fair US is net exporter now

Doesn’t matter much in this case as US consumerd are still affected by the price rise same way consumers in a non-exporter country would be.

I guess what matters is that the increase in revenue largely stays within the country, but that doesn’t help consumers directly.

Re: U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

#38
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are the second- and third order effects of the Marg Bar Amrika Society getting a nuclear device (and the missiles to deliver it)?

Probably comparable to North Korea getting a nuclear device and the missiles to deliver it.

Does North Korea send missiles and drones to it's neighbors?

Re: U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

#39
post #22

I remember before the election I read a few people on HN say Trump is the most anti-war president they have ever seen and that all the talk about him letting Israel flatten Palestine was fearmongering. Wonder how they feel now.

I felt more or less like this, though I don't know if I posted it on HN. Lots of things I didn't like about Trump, but I did favour the less interventionist foreign policy he promised and initially delivered.

Now I feel I was wrong and Trump is just averagely warmongering, as US presidents go.

Re: U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

#40
Somewhat related: "Here Is What Trump’s Gargantuan $1.5T Defense Budget Has In It":

* https://www.twz.com/air/here-is-what-trumps-gargantuan-1-5t-...

That's $500B more than last year's budget, and:

> > Trump’s budget proposal represents the largest yearly military spending plan in U.S. history, exceeding the previous record of $1.2 trillion during World War II, when adjusted for inflation. And records confirm the DNC’s characterization of the increase being the largest since WWII when inflation is factored in.

* https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2026/apr/20/democratic...

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