WASHINGTON – Lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee called on the Pentagon to publicly reveal the total cost of the war in Iran, demanding non-classified answers about the damage to U.S. bases and other military facilities in the Middle East.
Five Democratic senators wrote in a letter to Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, that the Trump administration’s "ongoing efforts to hide the true cost of this war are outrageous and unacceptable."
The letter, first reported by USA TODAY, asks the Pentagon to reveal an estimated cost of the damage, a timeline for beginning repairs, and how much it has spent adapting new facilities to account for the damage done to military bases in the region.
The U.S. military estimated that the
Iran war has cost $43.6 billion as of Sept. 3, according to an update provided by Central Command to the congressional national security committees. The cost update, however, does not account for damage to U.S. bases and other military facilities in the region that were damaged or destroyed by Iranian strikes.
"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."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts led the letter to Cooper, which was also signed by Sens. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, and Gary Peters of Michigan.
More than 50,000 U.S. service members have been deployed in Central Command’s area of responsibility to support the Iran war. At least 21 U.S. service members have been killed, and another 865 were injured since the start of the conflict.
Buildings and facilities at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan were damaged or destroyed by Iranian strikes during the war, according to a report on the war from the Pentagon’s official watchdog.
The U.S. military has justified its decision not to disclose an estimated cost of the damage because it has not decided which bases and facilities it will choose to rebuild.
"There is no rationale for classifying that cost estimate," the senators wrote. "Our allies and our adversaries are, unfortunately, keenly aware of the extraordinary toll that this reckless war has taken on military readiness, and Congress and the public need this information to determine the steps necessary to recover from this debacle."
Naval Support Activity Bahrain, the U.S. 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 to the base in Bahrain complicated the Navy’s efforts to resupply the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, contributing to deteriorating conditions for U.S. service members working and living onboard the aircraft carrier.
"This war has caused significant damage to the U.S.’s critical infrastructure in the region," the senators wrote. "Damage to allied bases and facilities has also increased the cost of this war for our regional partners and put U.S. troops at risk."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democratic senators demand Pentagon reveal 'true cost' of Iran war
