Washington Examiner columnist Joe Concha highlighted voters’ concerns over Iran war spending and emphasized the importance of getting rid of the Middle Eastern country’s nuclear weapons.
“Is $38 billion worth not having a nuclear Iran, not using it to blackmail the West, or use it for even far more nefarious purposes?” Concha said Wednesday on Mornings with Fox Business.
The war in Iran started on Feb. 28, and since then, the cost estimate for the war is roughly $38 billion.
“It was opposed to be a quick war, obviously, all these months in, it was not,” Concha said.
Concha compared the situation to the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.
The unprecedented military operation led to the swift capture of Maduro, lasting only about an hour, with explosions reported from around 2 a.m. local time to 3 a.m. local time.
“The hope was that we take out the Iranian leadership, we did, and therefore it would be another Venezuela situation where things stabilize, and then we just move forward,” Concha said.
The war in Iran has lasted more than six months, raising concerns over the United States’s continued involvement overseas and the resources it has committed to the conflict.
Supply constraints from the conflict are also driving up gas prices to record highs in the U.S., as the national average price of diesel hit $6 per gallon last week for the first time ever.
Concha argued that the war’s $38 billion price tag still remains within the federal budget, which goes “well, well into the trillions.”
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Concha said voters are not seeing the full picture, which could pose a challenge heading into the midterm elections.
“Common sense says, ‘Yes, this may have been worth it,’ but we live in a society where it’s, ‘What have you done for me lately?’” Concha said.