Paper Tiger: America's Trillion-Dollar War Machine Fails Against Iran

Key facts

• The US spent $21 trillion on its military between 2001 and 2024, equal to the combined spending of the next eighteen countries.
• Iran's 2025 military budget is estimated at only $7.5 billion, 2% of US spending.
• The US has lost at least four F-15 fighters, an F-35, an A-10, seven KC-135 refueling planes, an E-6 AWACS plane, two MC-130J special operations aircraft, a helicopter, a Triton drone, and 24 MQ-9 Reaper drones in the Iran war.
• In 2003, the US dropped 13,000 tons of bombs on Iraq in the first 30 days, with only 6% being stand-off weapons; now it relies heavily on such weapons.
• The US has depleted a third of its stand-off and air defense weapons stocks, including JASSM and Tomahawk missiles, and half of its Patriot and THAAD interceptors.
• Shahed drones cost Iran between $20,000 and $50,000 each, while US missiles range from $700,000 to $12 million.
• The US has won only three wars since 1945: Grenada, Panama, and Kuwait.
• Trump requested a record $1.5 trillion in military spending for FY2027.
• The House-passed NDAA authorizes $1.15 trillion in discretionary military spending.
• Iran reiterated six points from the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Trump on June 17, including reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
• The US has relocated its Central Command headquarters from Qatar to Jordan due to Iranian attacks.
• Chalmers Johnson's book 'Blowback' (1999) warned of the consequences of US militarism.
• Ben Ferencz, former Nuremberg prosecutor, said a week after 9/11 that bombing Afghanistan would kill innocent people.
• In February 2006, 85% of US occupation forces in Iraq believed their mission was to retaliate for Saddam's role in 9/11.
• The US arms industry is consolidated around five firms: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, RTX, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman.
• The Pentagon spent $2 billion on recruitment and $1.14 billion on advertising in 2023.
• Veterans of the 'Global War on Terror' discourage their children from joining the military; recruiters have had guns drawn on them.
• The US and Israel have failed to destroy Iran's air defense system.
• Iran has built its critical defense infrastructure underground.
• The US is flying B-1 bombers from Fairford, England to fire Tomahawk missiles at Iran.
• The US has sent dozens more aerial refueling planes to reinforce the sixty already in Israel.
• The US-Israeli genocide in Gaza enjoys bipartisan support in Congress.
• The September 11 attacks were carried out by 19 al-Qaeda hijackers, not by the countries the US invaded.
• Andrei Martyanov's book 'Losing Military Supremacy' (2018) warned that US carriers are obsolete against Russian and Chinese missiles.
• Iranian missiles and drones have driven US forces out of Persian Gulf bases and forced carriers to stay 1,000 miles from Iran.
• The US is repositioning forces to Israel, increasing risks of escalation.
• Most Americans now oppose the US military alliance with Israel.
• The article calls for dismantling the failed, corrupt, out-of-control war machine.