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Congress wants to see the Pentagon’s hidden costs of deterring Iran

Congress wants the Defense Department to regularly report on the costs required to deter Tehran's ambitions in the Middle East.
A picture taken on January 13, 2020 during a press tour organised by the US-led coalition fighting the remnants of the Islamic State group, shows US soldiers clearing rubble at Ain al-Asad military airbase in the western Iraqi province of Anbar. - Iran last week launched a wave of missiles at the sprawling Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq and a base in Arbil, capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, both hosting US and other foreign troops, in retaliation for the US killing top Iranian general Qasem

As US-led wars against the Islamic State (IS) and the Taliban wind down, the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) appears to be signaling that he prefers to leave troops in the Middle East to deter Iran — and now Congress wants to know how much it will cost.

House lawmakers have included a provision in their version of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act that would require the Defense Department to regularly report on the military’s hidden price tag of warding off Tehran’s ambitions in the region.

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