DOMINANT ANGLE
Berlin highlights the contradiction between Donald Trump's comments on "virtually unlimited" ammunition stocks and the admission, for the first time, of a shortage by an independent Pentagon inspection.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
The CBO estimates the cost of the war against Iran at $38.1 billion over the first five months, or up to $100 million per day, an amount close to the $37.5 billion cited in July by Pete Hegseth.
- 02
An independent inspection by the Pentagon acknowledges for the first time "strategic stock gaps and bottlenecks" in ammunition, without specifying the affected weapons systems.
- 03
The CBO forecasts an inflationary effect: +0.5 point on annual inflation and +0.3 point on "core" inflation by early 2027, due to the increase in energy costs.
ANALYSIS
Berlin, September 16, 2026. The German press is comparing the figures from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) with Donald Trump's repeated statements about "practically unlimited" ammunition stocks. According to the CBO, a non-partisan body of the US Congress, the war against Iran has cost the Pentagon $38.1 billion in its first five months. The letter, addressed on Tuesday to Democratic Representative Brendan Boyle, the top Democratic official on the House Budget Committee, specifies that the sum includes the replacement of consumed ammunition and destroyed equipment, as well as increased flight and fuel expenses. Each additional month would cost $2 to $3 billion, or up to $100 million per day. This amount largely matches the estimate of $37.5 billion put forward in July before Congress by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The CBO also anticipates an inflationary effect: by early 2027, the annual US inflation rate is expected to be 0.5 percentage points higher than previously forecast, and core inflation, excluding energy and food, 0.3 percentage points higher, due to the rise in energy costs.
The Tagesschau emphasizes the contradiction between these figures and the presidential discourse. An independent inspection by the Department of Defense has for the first time acknowledged ammunition shortages resulting from the war: the mandatory report to Congress mentions "strategic stock gaps and bottlenecks" in supplies, without specifying which weapons systems are affected. The Pentagon says it wants to "streamline acquisition processes and production timelines," while admitting that expanding industrial capacity requires "considerable lead times."
The same report puts the cost of the first four months of engagement at $33.4 billion (approximately 28.95 billion euros), including $22.3 billion for ammunition alone. It confirms the death of seven soldiers in operation and seven others during the mission, without a direct link to hostile acts, and notes that hundreds of buildings on American bases in the region have been damaged or destroyed by Iranian strikes — damage that has not been accounted for due to uncertainty about their reconstruction.
No article links these figures to Israel's missile defense or deliveries to other allies: the German reading remains focused on the budgetary balance and what it reveals about the tensions between the Pentagon and the White House.
