Today in Politics, Bulletin 319. 3/2/26

… CENTCOM: “4 US service members have been killed in action. The fourth service member, who was seriously wounded during Iran’s initial attacks, eventually succumbed to their injuries. Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing.”

… Drop Site News: “Over the past 24 hours, we have heard via witnesses that the number of US personnel injured in Iranian attacks in Kuwait is much higher than has been acknowledged. CENTCOM has not responded to our requests for comment.”

… CNN later reported the death toll is now up to at least 6 US service members.

… CENTCOM: “At 11:03 p.m. ET, March 1, 3 US F-15E Strike Eagles flying in support of Operation Epic Fury went down over Kuwait due to an apparent friendly fire incident. During active combat—that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones — the US Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses.”

… “All 6 aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in stable condition. Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defense forces and their support in this ongoing operation. The cause of the incident is under investigation.”

… Joint Chiefs Chair Dan Caine: “I am aware of the loss of three US Air Force F-15s overnight in the region. I am grateful for the safety of the crews and we know that this was not from hostile enemy fire. As this matter is under investigation, I'll not comment further.”

… Caine held a joint press conference with Pete Hegseth today, since Hegseth is unable to handle it on his own even though he is only primarily calling on right-wing media and MAGA influencers since the real Pentagon press has been banned from the briefing room.

… CNN’s media reporter Brian Stelter: “The Pentagon has severely restricted access to info in the past year. Hegseth credentialed a MAGA media ‘press corps’ last fall after traditional news outlets rejected new press pass rules that media lawyers said criminalized routine reporting. Journalists from some traditional outlets were allowed to attend this morning’s press conference. But Hegseth only answered questions from his chosen outlets.”

… “I’m told he had a pre-selected list of questioners, and all the reporters were in assigned seats, so he knew who to call on. When NBC’s Courtney Kube tried to get a question in anyway, Hegseth dismissed it as a ‘typical NBC sort of gotcha-type question.’”

• Hegseth: “Israel has clear missions as well for which we are grateful. Capable partners are good partners, unlike so many of our traditional allies who wring their hands and clutch their pearls, hemming and hawing about the use of force.”

… European foreign policy analyst Jimmy Rushton: “The US spent months threatening, insulting and belittling their ‘traditional allies’ and is now whining that they don’t want to join America’s latest war in the Middle East. Actions, meet consequences.

• “No stupid rules of engagement, no nation building quagmire, no democracy building exercise, no politically correct wars. We fight to win and we don’t waste time or lives. As the president warned, an effort of this scope will include casualties. War is hell and always will be.”

• When Courtney Kube asked how long the bombing will last: “Typical NBC sort of gotcha type question. President Trump has all the latitude in the world to talk about how long it may or may not take—4 weeks, 2 weeks, 6 weeks. It could move up. It could move back. So you can play games about 4 weeks, 5 weeks.”

• “It turns out the regime who chanted death to America was gifted death from America.”

• On the 4 confirmed US deaths so far: “An effort of this scope will include casualties. War is hell. Hegseth: Every once in a while you might have one, we call it a squirter, that makes its way through. And in that particular case, it happened to hit a tactical operation center that was fortified.”

• “We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it.”

• Q - “Is there a concern of this spiraling into a longer war? Hegseth: Did you not hear my remarks? We would never in front of a press pool, lay out how long that may take the mission for our warfighters, which is what matters to us, is very, very clear. And they’re executing it right now violently.”

… Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ): “No imminent threat identified. We did start this war, without a real plan or exit strategy. This can’t be a war without end.”

• Q - “Are there currently any American boots on the ground in Iran? Hegseth: No, but we’re not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do. President Trump ensures that our enemies understand we’ll go as far as we need to go to advance American interests. But we’re not dumb.”

… Dan Caine then chimed in: “The military objectives will take some time to achieve and in some cases will be difficult and gritty work. We expect to take additional losses and as always, we will work to minimize us losses. But as the secretary said, this is major combat operations.”

… Marco Rubio had his own press gaggle at the Capitol: “I’ve been asked: why now? One reason why is it was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack by anyone, the US or Israel or anyone, they were going to respond and respond against the US.
If we stood and waited for that attack to come first, before we hit them, we would suffer much higher casualties.”

… “We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action, and we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces.”

… So he's saying that he knew Israel was going to attack Iran and he believed Iran would retaliate by attacking US bases, so we had to strike first since Israel was going to get US forces attacked. Interesting statement.

… Ghida Fakhy, host of TRT World News: “So now the ‘imminent threat’ was that Iran would hit back after being attacked by Israel? That’s why the US launched this devastating war and plunged the region into chaos - instead of pressuring its closest ally not to attack in the first place. Impressive logic: start a war to stop the retaliation you expect from starting a war. That’s a very creative definition of ‘imminent threat.’”

… Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX): “Rubio's remarks indicate that Israel put US forces in harm's way by insisting on attacking Iran. And the admin was complicit—joining their war instead of talking them down. This is unacceptable of the President, and unacceptable of a country that calls itself our ally.”

… Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX): “Rubio confirms that, like last year’s attack on Iran, Trump was just too weak to tell Netanyahu NO, as George W. Bush had done. Trump talks tough, brandishes military might, but cannot stand up to strongmen whether Netanyahu or Putin.”

… Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ): “What the fuck happened to America First?”

… Meidas reporter Pablo Manriquez got Rubio to admit that Trump knew his strikes on Iran were going to raise gas prices for Americans: Q - “What’s your message to Americans who are concerned about this causing energy prices to rise? Rubio: We knew that going in that it would be a factor so we have a program in place that will begin to be implemented.”

… There is no program in place. Gas prices are going up.

… Fox host Jesse Watters: “Gas prices are gonna jump. Mortgage rates are already ticking up. You're gonna see a little inflation. But if it's a successful operation, prices are gonna go way down and the stock market is going to rip. And we'll have full control over the oil rich Middle East.”

… Meanwhile, Trump finally returned the WH after several days in Palm Beach and had a Medal of Honor ceremony today. Getty photographer Saul Loeb got a photo of a red rash on Trump’s neck, which has been there for about a week but has gotten much worse. His hand also looked pretty bad and was heavily covered in makeup.

… Trump at the ceremony to medal recipients and their families: “See that nice drape? When that comes down right now you see a very very deep hole, but in about a year and half you’re gonna see a very very beautiful building. And there’s your entrance to it right there. In fact, it looks so nice I think I’ll leave it and save money on the doors. I picked those drapes. I always liked gold. I believe it will be the most beautiful ballroom anywhere in the world.”

… Gavin Newsom: “4 US soldiers have tragically fallen in Trump’s reckless, chaotic war with Iran. California salutes the courage and enduring sacrifice of our service members and their loved ones. But our Commander in Chief? Don’t worry, he’s focused on what really matters: himself.”

… Trump continued on about the ballroom: “We are already substantially ahead of our time projections, but whatever the time is, it’s ok. Whatever it takes. They said, the president wants to do it really quickly. After that, he will get bored. I don’t get bored. There is nothing boring about this. If I got bored, I wouldn’t be standing here.”

… Retired Army Vet Dave Thul: “If I were an American family who just got the news that their loved one was killed in combat, I think I would throw something at the TV if I saw this.”

… Trump: “It will be under budget and ahead of schedule. It will be $400 million or less.”

… He originally said was going to cost $200 million. Then he said $250 million. Then $300 million. But now it's going to come in “under budget” at $400 million.

… Journalist Mike Rothschild: “It’s worth noting that Trump is putting infinitely more effort into selling his ballroom to the American people than anyone in his admin is on selling the attack on Iran.”

… Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) on MS NOW: “Friday night, Trump filmed this tough video where he talked about war and the cost of war and how hard it’s gonna be and how we’re gonna lose troops, then he literally went behind the curtain and hosted a million dollar a plate dinner and dance party at Mar-a-Lago. That tells you everything you need to know.”

… Axios: “No president in the modern era has ordered more military strikes against as many different countries as Trump. He’s attacked 7 nations, 3 of which - Iran, Nigeria and Venezuela - had never been targeted by US military strikes. He authorized more individual air strikes in 2025 than President Biden did in 4 years.”

… NYT did a brief phone interview of Trump. “Trump said he had ‘3 very good choices’ about who could lead Iran, although he declined to name them. The president offered a variety of often inconsistent visions of how a new govt could take shape after the targeted killing of Ayatollah Khamenei.”

… “When pressed on his plans for a transition of power, Trump said he hoped Iran’s elite military forces - including hardened officers of the IRGC who have held substantial influence and profited from the existing regime - would simply turn over their weapons to the Iranian populace. It was those same security forces - in particular, the Basij, which organizes local militia - that opened fire on street protesters in Jan and killed thousands.”

… Trump: “They would really surrender to the people, if you think about it.”

… Then he offered a very different model of what the transition of power in Iran might look like, referring repeatedly to his experience in Venezuela after he ordered a Delta Force team to seize Maduro: “What we did in Venezuela, I think, is the perfect, the perfect scenario.”

… ABC’s Jonathan Karl also did a phone interview with Trump: “He sounded, to me, like a president that feels invincible. He told me this about the death of Khamenei: ‘I got him before he got me. They tried twice. Well I got him first.’”

… Trump then said he was looking for another member of the Iranian regime to take over just like in Venezuela, but he’s not sure that’s going to work now: “The attack was so successful it knocked out most of the candidates. It's not going to be anybody that we were thinking of because they are all dead. Second or third place is dead."

… Sen. Lindsey Graham was giddy on Fox: “Cuba is next! They are going to fall. Their days are numbered!”

… CNN host Pamela Brown live on air: “President Trump just told my colleague Jake Tapper that the big wave is yet to come, so clearly things are gonna be escalating, not deescalating.”

As I expected, another busy day with war news dominating everything else for the third straight day. We have the Texas primary tomorrow - which will be huge for both parties, then the House returns on Wednesday so things should begin to pick up with other news.

If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin recapping the entire weekend, you can find it here.

… NY Sun: “Several of the FBI agents and personnel fired last week were members of a counterintelligence squad that focused on threats that included those involving the Iranian regime. The ouster of at least a dozen staffers from a counterintelligence unit, known as CI-12, was ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel.”

… The dismissals came just days before the start of Operation Epic Fury and, separately, a deadly mass shooting at a bar in Austin, Texas, by a man reportedly wearing a sweatshirt that said, ‘Property of Allah,’ beneath which was a T-shirt that