Five Democratic Senators Demand Pentagon Disclose Full Cost of Iran War

WASHINGTON — Five Democratic senators on the Senate Armed Services Committee want the Pentagon to publicly disclose the full cost of the war in Iran, including what Iranian strikes destroyed at American bases across the Middle East.

In a letter to Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, the senators called the Trump administration’s “ongoing efforts to hide the true cost of this war” “outrageous and unacceptable.” The letter, first reported by USA Today, asks the Pentagon for non-classified answers on the estimated cost of the damage, a timeline for beginning repairs and what it has spent adapting facilities to cover the destruction.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts led the letter. It was also signed by Sens. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Gary Peters of Michigan.

Central Command told congressional national security committees that the war had cost $43.6 billion as of Sept. 3. That figure does not include the damage to American bases and other military facilities in the region that Iranian strikes damaged or destroyed.

“During a recent classified briefing, you provided information to the Senate Armed Services Committee on the estimated cost of the damage to U.S. bases and facilities,” the senators wrote. “However, that figure should not be available only to lawmakers – the American people deserve to know the full cost of the Trump administration’s unauthorized war against Iran.”

Bases in eight countries were hit

More than 50,000 American service members have been deployed in Central Command’s area of responsibility for the war. At least 21 have been killed and another 865 injured since the conflict began.

Buildings and facilities at American bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan were damaged or destroyed by Iranian strikes during the war, according to a report from the Pentagon’s official watchdog.

The military has justified keeping the damage cost classified by saying it has not decided which bases and facilities it will rebuild. The senators rejected that answer in the letter: “There is no rationale for classifying that cost estimate.”

Damage in Bahrain complicated a carrier’s resupply

Naval Support Activity Bahrain, the Navy’s main logistics hub in the Middle East, was severely damaged by an Iranian missile and drone attack at the start of the war. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao confirmed the base suffered extensive damage, saying in an interview that Iran “blew the hell out of Bahrain.”

The damage complicated the Navy’s efforts to resupply the USS Abraham Lincoln, contributing to worsening conditions for the service members working and living aboard the aircraft carrier.

The senators wrote that damage to allied bases had also raised the war’s cost for regional partners and put American troops at risk.

Reporting based on coverage by USA Today.