Once you notice that the usual deficit scolds go quiet any time money is conjured for cops (broadly defined) and war, you realize you can ignore them and anyone who takes them seriously.
The war with Iran has cost the US some $37.5bn (£28bn) so far - an increase of nearly $8bn since the last estimate in May, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said.
Similarly, I don't need to be a military spending expert to know that Hegseth is lying and the real cost is already multiples of that.