President Donald Trump on Thursday said he is weighing whether or not to "annihilate" Iran in a renewed effort to end the illegal 201-day US-Israeli war of choice, musings that came on the heels of a report by United Nations experts who said the United States likely committed war crimes during earlier attacks on the Middle East nation.…
Page B1From§Eachthe late evening edition — 21 September 2026
Hegseth, demanded fired twice this month and facing impeachment paperwork, will chair the Pentagon's first homeland defense board
As it ran on the front
Consequence — the working assumption that a finding of fact obliges somebody to answer for it — died this month. The cause of death was a notice in the Federal Register.
It had a long and unremarkable life, and its last weeks are easy to lay out in order. In late August the country learned that the war the President had said would be quick was six months old with, in the reporting, no end in sight. On the first of September the bombing campaign restarted and the President warned Iran that any retaliation would be answered "at a much harder and higher level." On the ninth he allowed that the war would not end before the midterms, which is the sort of scheduling note a man makes about a thing he means to keep. On the tenth the Defense Secretary went on camera to describe the devastation done to Iran's capabilities. On the eleventh he and the President stood at the Pentagon and tied this war to September 11, 2001.…
…(cont) The bills came in behind the speeches. On the fifteenth the Congressional Budget Office priced the war at nearly $40 billion and called that estimate conservative, conservative being what budget people say when the real number is worse and they would rather wait. Forty billion is not penny-ante money. A United Nations inquiry found the strikes already flown were likely war crimes. Senators came out of a Pentagon briefing frustrated. Senate Democrats demanded to be told what the fighting costs. A senator who voted to confirm the Defense Secretary has called for his firing twice this month. A Republican congressman filed impeachment paperwork against him. Four institutions, doing the one thing they are built to do.
Here is what came back. The Pentagon has stood up a Homeland Defense Board, announced in the Federal Register on September 11 and first reported by Defense News — the department's first advisory panel of its kind — and the Defense Secretary will chair it. The Federal Register on the eleventh, the cameras at the Pentagon on the eleventh. That is where this shit goes on the day the microphones are pointed somewhere else.
Consequence is preceded in death by "quick" and by "over before the midterms." It is survived by the Federal Register notice, which printed what it was handed, and by the chairmanship, which is not contingent on the finding, the frustration, the firing demands, or the filing.
It is also survived by the geography. On Monday Iran said a new assault would be met with different weapons in new places, while the President touted a looming decision on his next move. The $40 billion does not cover that. That is the next invoice.
In lieu of flowers, ask your own member of Congress what this war has cost to date and make them say the number out loud.
“Forty billion dollars, a U.N. inquiry saying the strikes were likely war crimes, a senator screaming for the guy's job twice in three weeks, a congressman filing impeachment paper — and the answer is he gets handed a brand-new board to chair. That's not a mistake, that's the grading system: the louder the receipts, the bigger the office. And Iran just said the next round happens with different weapons in new places, which means the forty billion was the down payment and you're on the hook for the rest while your kid's school eats the bake sale.”
“The Homeland Defense Board was in the Federal Register — published, public, you can read it, that's transparency, so I don't know what the complaint is. Nobody sequenced this against the impeachment filing; it's an advisory committee, advisory, it doesn't even — did I say that? That doesn't sound like me. And the cost figure is the Budget Office's own word, conservative, which tells you they're guessing, and you can't run a defense posture off a guess, which is why you want the Secretary chairing the board.”
Earlier in this story
- Rogers spent two decades demanding war with Iran, now films a grocery-store ad calling for it to end By Lou · the early evening edition, 21 September 2026
- Farmers pay record $6.50 diesel and milk tariffs, the latest invoice on a war Pentagon still can't total. By Mort · the late evening edition, 20 September 2026
- Republican senator begs Trump for a 1970s-style embargo to lower diesel prices the war he defends caused. By Chip · the late evening edition, 20 September 2026
- Adviser says the president 'had to act' the same week the war's own invoice nears $40 billion. By Chip · the supper edition, 20 September 2026
- "Farmers first," dead at one campaign, is survived by a North Carolina grower in survival mode who still pays the freight on a war the budget office prices at $38 billion and calls that figure conservative. By Mort · the breakfast edition, 20 September 2026
The receipts
Matt Bell said he initially supported Trump's policies but now feels he and other farmers were "sold a bill of goods" that there was a plan to "put America's farmers and ranchers first."
This amounts to more than 80 trades per market day for the president in his first 17 months back in office.
The Republican lawmaker cited incidents like the US’s elementary school massacre in Minab, Iran, early in the war.
The US targeted “clearly identifiable” civilian sites in Minab and Lamerd, killing over 100 children, the UN found.
As President Trump touts a looming decision on his next move in the war, Tehran says any "new aggression" would be met with different weapons in new places.
The Pentagon has failed its audit eight years running - the only major federal agency never to pass one Military Times, 19 December 2025
Tillis supports Hegseth impeachment resolution: 'He needs to go'Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who voted to confirm Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, is renewing his call for President Trump to fire the Pentagon chief after Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned. “He needs to go, whether it’s impeachment or the most expedient route — just the president to replace him — would be great,”
The Pentagon has failed its audit eight years running - the only major federal agency never to pass one Military Times, 19 December 2025
Hegseth to chair Pentagon’s new homeland defense panelDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth will now oversee a new Pentagon advisory committee focused on homeland security and defense — the first such department panel to do so. The Homeland Defense Board (HDB), announced in the Federal Register on Sept. 11 and first reported by Defense News, is meant to fill what the Pentagon sees as...
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) announced Thursday that four Republicans, including him, have signed the Epstein Files II discharge petition and expressed confidence it will pass the House. The news comes after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) sent lawmakers home for a seven-week recess ahead of the midterm elections.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday that with seven weeks to go until Election Day, it was time for lawmakers to "go home to their districts and make the case to the American people"—a day earlier than scheduled. But with the US public overwhelmingly disapproving of President Donald Trump's war in Iran and demanding…
U.N.-commissioned rights experts say there are "reasonable grounds" to believe the U.S. committed war crimes with strikes that killed scores of Iranian civilians.
The Pentagon has failed its audit eight years running - the only major federal agency never to pass one Military Times, 19 December 2025
Pentagon No. 3 frustrates senators in closed-door briefing on Iran war, Trump defense strategyDemocratic and Republican lawmakers alike emerged Thursday from a closed-door briefing frustrated by what they said was a lack of clear answers from Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby on the Trump administration’s National Defense Strategy and the ongoing Iran war. The briefing with the Senate Armed Services Committee started off…
A UN fact-finding mission has reported that two US airstrikes which killed at least 178 civilians in Iran constitute war crimes. Plus: Andy Burnham says he is “determined” to hit net zero by 2050, Sweden’s left-of-centre coalition wins the general election, Netanyahu is pushing to strip IDF critics of their citizenship, and the…
Matt Bell has been farming in North Carolina for more than half his life. He voted for President Trump but said farmers are "fighting for survival" as they combat rising prices.
The fossil fuel industry is raking in big profits thanks to President Donald Trump's illegal war with Iran, and a new analysis finds that it's plugging a sizable chunk of these gains into propaganda. A report published by Clean Creatives on Wednesday reveals that fossil fuel firms across the world have "engaged 802 advertising and PR…
The Pentagon has failed its audit eight years running - the only major federal agency never to pass one Military Times, 19 December 2025
Senate Democrats, minus Fetterman, urge Hegseth to provide receipt for Iran war costsAll of the Democrats in the Senate — excluding Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman — signed an open letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, pressing him to give Congress a cost breakdown of the war in Iran. The letter, although largely symbolic, reflects the frustration of many Democrats in Congress over what they perceive as a...
A recently published economic analysis estimates that President Donald Trump’s illegal war with Iran has cost US consumers an average of $1,760 per household—including a total of $121 billion in extra spending on energy alone—since the conflict began less than 8 months ago. The war, which Trump launched without congressional…
· Trump Issues New Mass Murder Threat, Warning Iran of 'Biggest Attack of Them All' from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026
· Trump, Hegseth tie Iran war into 9/11 speeches from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026
· Hegseth on "devastation" to Iran's capabilities from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026
· Trump admits Iran war will not end before midterms from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
· Iran War Trump Said Would Be Quick Has Now Lasted 6 Months With 'No End In Sight' from the morgue, 28 Aug 2026
· CBO Finds Trump's Iran War Has Already Cost Nearly $40 Billion—And That's a 'Conservative' Estimate from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Massie Files Impeachment Articles Against Hegseth for Illegal Iran War, Boat Murders from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Massie launches effort to impeach Hegseth from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Tillis urges Trump to fire Hegseth over 'inept management' of military from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026
· Tillis renews calls for Hegseth’s firing after Driscoll’s departure: ‘I have never witnessed more inept management’ from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026
· Massie names Epstein 'coconspirators,' discusses new Epstein files legislation from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026
· Read Thomas Massie’s eight impeachment charges against Pete Hegseth from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Fake Republican midterm convention site still redirects to Epstein files from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026
· Trump says he has a ‘big decision’ coming up on Iran: ‘Do I want to go in and annihilate them’ from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Fox News Poll: 71% think Trump administration lacks plan to end Iran war from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Iran recently downed at least 2 American drones, officials say from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Big Oil Stocks Surged Due to Iran War—and New Filings Show How President Trump Cashed In from the morgue, 27 Aug 2026
· Live updates: Energy secretary downplays rising gas prices as US, Iran trade strikes from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026
· U.S. Strike on Iranian School May Have Been War Crime, U.N. Report Says from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· UN investigators conclude ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe certain US strikes in Iran were war crimes from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· US Condemned for 'War Crimes' After Bombing of Wedding Party in Iran from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026
· US investigating if missile hit Iranian wedding ceremony, killing 4 from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026
· Trump says he has a ‘big decision coming up’ on Iran from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· White House issues explosive response to UN-backed report claiming US committed war crimes against world’s No.1 sponsor of terror, Iran from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Human rights experts: 'Reasonable grounds' to believe US committed war crimes with Iran strikes from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Iran downed at least 2 American drones in recent days, U.S. officials say from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Iran: Account of US Air Force colonel's rescue 'fictional' from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Consumer Burden of Trump Iran War Exceeds $100 Billion as Oil Prices Pass $100 a Barrel from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
· 'A Serious and Alarming Threat': US Bombing, Blockade Deepen Iran Medical Crisis from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
· Consumer Confidence Hits Lowest Level in Months as US Faces 'Trump's Reckless Tariffs and War With Iran' from the morgue, 25 Aug 2026
· U.S. Air Force officer rescued from Iran speaks for the first time to 60 Minutes from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026
· Rep. Thomas Massie forcing vote on Pete Hegseth's impeachment from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026
· The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Massie saying Johnson is sending the House home early to prevent Hegseth impeachment from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026
· ‘You’re Elected to Fight and Kill the Other Side’: How Congress Lost Its Way from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026
· Army combat veteran challenging Mike Lawler calls Hegseth national security 'hazard,' backs impeachment from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026
· Former Air Force secretary says he 'couldn't serve' in Trump administration from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026
· Former Air Force secretary: Hegseth's Pentagon 'dysfunctional' from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· House Republicans split over leaving Washington early for campaign trail from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026
· 'How are we gonna get through this?' Many Americans are struggling as prices rise from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026
· Trump's Top Oil Stocks Have Made Him Up to $4.4 Million Richer During Iran War: Analysis from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
· 'Trump Did It!': At $5.85 a Gallon, Diesel Price Hits All-Time High in US Thanks to War on Iran from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026
· Gas prices reach Labor Day high amid Iran war from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026
· Trump Hammered Over Iran War That Drove Gas Prices Above $4 Per Gallon Every Day in August for First Time Ever from the morgue, 31 Aug 2026
· Warsh under pressure as Fed weighs rate hike from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Inflation held at 3.4% in August in consumer price index, creating tough choice for Warsh Fed from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026
· Warsh indicates Fed could raise rates to cool inflation from the morgue, 28 Aug 2026
· Key U.S. Bond Rate Near 20-Year High as Oil Prices Keep Climbing from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· 10-year Treasury yield hits highest level since 2007, oil surges above $105 as Fed expected to hike interest rates from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Benchmark mortgage rate hits 14-month high as bond yields keep rising from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026
· Benchmark mortgage rate hits highest mark in over a year from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· Goldman Sachs warns oil prices could hit $120 as U.S. fuel costs surge from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026
· GOP Rep Thomas Massie introduces 8 articles of impeachment against War Secretary Pete Hegseth from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Republican Rep. Massie moves to impeach Defense Secretary Hegseth over Iran war from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Thomas Massie Forces Vote To Impeach Pete Hegseth from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Pete Hegseth Faces Growing Criticism as War With Iran Rolls On from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· Hegseth Quietly Extends Middle East Troop Deployments Into 2027 as Iran War Drags On from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· Costco imposes purchase limits on motor oil, hikes prices by nearly double from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· As gas averages $4.31 nationwide, diesel fuel hits all-time high: "It's painful. It's real hard" from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026
· Costco Raises Motor Oil Price, Caps Customer Purchases As Iran War Drags On from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026
· 'Can't Message That Away': GOP Frets as Trump Administration Desperately Spins Record-High Diesel Prices from the morgue, 5 Sep 2026
· European Union member states agree to a natural gas price cap in an attempt to limit economic damage from the global energy crisis. The price cap can be triggered beginning on February 15, if for thre from the morgue, 19 Dec 2022
· Spike on 10-year bond yields renews concerns over U.S. debt from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· 10-Year Treasury Yield Reaches 5%, Highest Level in Years from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026
· Treasury reveals $6B in debt buybacks, triple the normal level – but markets slump from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
· Trump blames rise in diesel prices on Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil refineries from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026
· Trump blames rising diesel price on Russia-Ukraine war from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026
· What Is Driving Diesel Prices Up? Energy Chaos Caused by Two Wars. from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.