{"id":7715,"date":"2026-03-22T07:28:56","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T07:28:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/it-takes-money-to-kill-bad-guys-hegseth-says-of-200b-iran-war-request-to-congress\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T07:28:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T07:28:56","slug":"it-takes-money-to-kill-bad-guys-hegseth-says-of-200b-iran-war-request-to-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/it-takes-money-to-kill-bad-guys-hegseth-says-of-200b-iran-war-request-to-congress\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It takes money to kill bad guys,\u2019 Hegseth says of $200B Iran war request to Congress"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Pentagon\u2019s $200 billion request to cover the costs of the Iran war will reimburse what the Defense Department has already spent and what is ahead, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday as a third week of strikes drew to a close.<\/p>\n

That includes replenishing munitions, which have been expended by the thousands since strikes began Feb. 28.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, it takes money to kill bad guys,\u201d Hegseth said during a Pentagon press briefing. \u201cSo 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 is\u2014everything’s refilled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the weapons that need replacing are 5,000-pound penetrator bombs dropped on underground facilities that housed Iranian cruise missiles, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during his remarks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There have also been \u201cprecision strikes against more than 90 targets on Kharg Island, which included all of their military-only infrastructure, which included air defenses, naval base, mine storage and deployment facilities,\u201d Caine said.<\/p>\n

Hegseth began his fifth briefing of the war with a different tone: for the first time, he led by mentioning U.S. troops killed in action.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I heard through tears, through hugs, through strength and through unbreakable resolve was the same from family after family: they said, \u2018Finish this. Honor their sacrifice. Do not waver. Do not stop until the job is done,\u2019 \u201d he said of Thursday\u2019s dignified transfer of six airmen killed in the March 2 crash of their KC-135 Stratotanker.<\/p>\n

Hegseth then turned his attention sharply to the media, calling them \u201cdishonest and anti-Trump,\u201d accusing \u201cour press\u201d of reporting on AI-generated video\u00a0falsely purporting to show the aftermath of a drone strike on the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. But the White House already acknowledged Monday that credulous coverage of that video came from foreign outlets.<\/p>\n

They \u201cwill stop at nothing, we know this at this point, to downplay progress, amplify every cost and call into question every step,\u201d Hegseth said of the American media.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the patriotic members of the press, nobody can deliver perfection in wartime. This building knows that more than anyone,\u201d he said. \u201cBut report the reality: we’re winning decisively and on our terms.\u201d<\/p>\n

He then turned his ire to U.S. allies who have refused to send forces to the Persian Gulf\u2014for example, European leaders who have noted that Trump launched the war without consulting them, after threatening to seize European-controlled territory, and without apparent consideration for the ways it might bolster Russia\u2019s war on European soil.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world, the Middle East, our ungrateful allies in Europe, even segments of our own press, should be saying one thing to President Trump: \u2018Thank you,\u201d the defense secretary said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Asked how the U.S. intended to fully denuclearize Iran without a protracted conflict, Hegseth dodged, reiterating talking points about a \u201cconventional umbrella\u201d of non-nuclear weapons meant to defend Iran\u2019s development of a nuclear weapon, as well as delays in the negotiating of a new nuclear deal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When asked whether Israel\u2019s targeting of Iranian oil facilities was counter to U.S. objectives to focus on military targets, the secretary dodged again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have allies pursuing objectives as well, and the truth speaks for itself,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can hold anything at issue, anything\u2014the United States military controls the fate of that country. Iran has the ability to make the right choices.\u201d\n\n<\/svg><\/p>\n<\/div>\n