The Department of War says it needs $200 billion in additional funds for the attack against Iran. Pentagon head Pete Hegseth suggested the number could go higher.
RAMZY BAROUD, [email protected], @RamzyBaroud
Baroud is editor of The Palestine Chronicle, which features numerous timely articles including “LIVE BLOG: Iran Unleashes Multi-Wave Missile Barrages, Israel Hits Tehran — Day 21.”
He is the author of six books including Before the Flood and he is beginning a speaking tour.
His recent articles include “The Iran War — The Most Obvious Question Liberal Media Refuses to Ask” in which he writes: “Though much of the media now expresses doubt about Trump’s war, the moral foundation of anti-war opposition has largely disappeared, replaced instead by a narrow strategic debate over costs, risks, and political consequences.”
In “Trump and Hegseth Cannot Define the Truth of the U.S.-Israeli War on Iran,” Baroud highlights Hegseth’s remark: “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.” Notes Baroud: “Ellison, a close ally of President Donald Trump and a strong supporter of Israel, is widely considered the frontrunner to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company that owns CNN. If there was any lingering doubt that such acquisitions are driven by political and ideological considerations, Hegseth’s remarks dispelled it.”
Also see “No Time for Losers: Why the War Meant to Save Israel May Destroy It” in which Baroud writes: “When Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu launched their military aggression against Iran on February 28, they appeared convinced that the war would be swift. Netanyahu reportedly assured Washington that the campaign would deliver a decisive strategic victory — one capable of reordering the Middle East and restoring Israel’s battered deterrence.
“Whether Netanyahu himself believed that promise is another matter.
“For decades, influential circles within Israel’s strategic establishment have not necessarily sought stability, but rather ‘creative destruction.’ The logic is simple: dismantle hostile regional powers and allow fragmented political landscapes to replace them.
“This idea did not emerge overnight. It was articulated most clearly in a 1996 policy paper titled ‘A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm,‘ prepared for then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by a group of U.S. neoconservative strategists, including Richard Perle.”