Good evening. I’m British Chris, and you’re watching Raw America.
The Iran war is ten days old, and the stories coming out of Washington are genuinely alarming. The Pentagon’s been sitting on casualty numbers. Iran’s been laying mines in one of the most critical waterways on the planet. A senator is warning that American troops could soon be in harm’s way. And a DOGE worker may have walked out of the Social Security Administration with the personal data of hundreds of millions of Americans on a thumb drive.
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Now. Let’s talk about what the Pentagon didn’t want you to know.
Hidden Casualties of Iran War Revealed
As many as 150 U.S. troops have been wounded since Trump first attacked Iran on February 28th. That’s a figure the Pentagon never volunteered.
Up until Reuters published their report, the only official line from the Pentagon was eight seriously wounded service members. After Reuters ran the story, the Pentagon scrambled out a statement. They put the figure at approximately 140 wounded, and they were very keen to stress that the “vast majority” were minor injuries. 108 of them have already returned to duty.
That context matters. But so does the fact that this figure wasn’t proactively disclosed. The U.S. is ten days into a war and nobody in the Pentagon was volunteering that 140 service members had been wounded. That’s not a small detail. That’s the cost of war, and people deserve to know it.
The Pentagon’s position is that Iranian strikes have dropped sharply as the U.S. military hits weapons stockpiles and missile launchers. Whether that holds is another question entirely.
Iran Lays Mines in Strait of Hormuz
This one could have serious global consequences well beyond the battlefield.
Iran has begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz. That’s according to two sources familiar with U.S. intelligence reporting, speaking to CNN. It’s not extensive, but here’s the part that should concern everyone: Iran still has somewhere between 80 and 90 percent of its small boats and mine layers intact.
That means if Iran decides to escalate, they could feasibly deploy hundreds of mines in that waterway.
The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly one-fifth of all the world’s crude oil. It’s not a strategic asset in the abstract. It’s the literal pipeline for global energy markets. The Iranian military, which now effectively controls the strait, has previously warned that any ship passing through would be attacked. The strait’s been described to CNN as a “death valley.”
The U.S. Navy hasn’t escorted any vessels through the strait. Trump said Monday his administration was looking at options to do so. That’s a significant and dangerous situation that hasn’t gotten nearly the attention it deserves.
Senator Warns Trump May Put Boots on the Ground
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal came out of a Senate Armed Services Committee briefing on Tuesday and didn’t mince words. He said, and this is a direct quote: “I emerged from this briefing as dissatisfied and angry, frankly, as I have from any past briefing in my 15 years in the Senate.”
He said he left with more questions than answers, particularly about costs. But the really alarming part was what he said next.
Blumenthal said the United States “seems to be on a path toward deploying American troops on the ground in Iran.” He also alleged that Russia is actively and intensively aiding Iran with intelligence, and that China is helping them as well.
On the other hand, Trump said Monday he was “nowhere near” a ground invasion. And press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump “does not remove options off of the table” regarding the U.S. military in Iran.
Those three statements can’t all be true at the same time.
This war is already deeply unpopular across the political spectrum. People are asking what the actual objective is. If Blumenthal’s characterisation of those classified briefings is accurate, the political fallout could be enormous. This isn’t a partisan issue. It’s a question of whether Americans are being told the truth about where this war is heading.
DOGE Worker Runs Off with Social Security Data
This story’s been somewhat buried under the Iran coverage, but it shouldn’t be.
The inspector general for the Social Security Administration has launched an investigation after a whistleblower alleged that a DOGE software engineer took a thumb drive full of sensitive beneficiary data to his new employer.
The Washington Post reports that if the allegation is proven, it would constitute “an unprecedented breach of security protocols” at an agency that serves more than 70 million Americans.
The databases allegedly involved are called the “Numident” and the “Master Death File.” Together, they contain records for more than 500 million living and dead Americans. Social Security numbers. Dates and places of birth. Citizenship status. Race and ethnicity. Parents’ names.
The complaint alleges the engineer, who worked at the SSA last year before taking a job at a government contractor in October, told co-workers he had at least one of these databases on a thumb drive. He allegedly said he was transferring the data to his personal computer to “sanitise” it before using it at his new company.
The Post didn’t name the engineer or the employer because the allegations haven’t been verified. An attorney for the employee denied any wrongdoing.
But the investigation is real. And the implications, if this is what it looks like, are staggering. DOGE already caused a massive backlog of cases at the SSA last year through staff reductions. Now there’s a live investigation into whether one of their engineers walked out the door with half a billion Americans’ most sensitive personal information.
That’s the state of play. A war with a hidden casualty count, a mined energy chokepoint, a senator warning of ground troops, and a potential data breach that would dwarf anything in American history.
Raw America Gives You What Corporate Media Won’t
One last thing before we go. Raw America has had reporters on the ground covering the Iran war protests right here in Washington. We were in the room for Kristi Noem’s congressional hearing. We covered the War Powers resolution vote live. And we brought you an exclusive interview with retired General Paul Eaton that you won’t find anywhere else.
None of that happens without paying subscribers. Not a single piece of it. If you value independent journalism that doesn’t answer to corporate interests, please subscribe today. The link’s below. It matters more than ever right now.
I’m British Chris. Stay informed. We’ll see you tomorrow.
STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
Markwayne Mullin Not Moving the Needle on DHS. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who President Donald Trump has tapped to lead the Department of Homeland Security following Kristi Noem’s exit, has yet to win over any Democratic support in the Senate, where he is expected to undergo questioning soon in confirmation hearings. The DHS remains shut down as Democrats dig in on refusing to fund the agency until it adopts reforms following the killings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Joe Rogan Sounds Off on Trump’s War with Iran. During a recent episode of his podcast, comedian and commentator Joe Rogan heavily criticized Trump’s attack on Iran, saying it “seems so insane.” Rogan — who endorsed Trump in 2024 — pointed out that Trump “ran on no more wars,” but now “can’t even really clearly define why we did it.”
Mike Johnson Says Nation-Building in Iran Is ‘Not Our Responsibility.’ House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who is typically an ardent supporter of the Trump administration, remarked during Republicans’ annual policy conference that he doesn’t think nation-building in Iran is “our role.” His remarks come as the president insists that the U.S. mission in Iran is “pretty well complete,” though Iran’s military continues to block the Strait of Hormuz, which is a critical passageway for 20 percent of the global oil trade.
Democrats Now Investigating 8 Day-Old Company Behind Kristi Noem Ads. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) are now requesting information and documents from three companies with ties to outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The companies collectively received $220 million in contracts to produce ads prominently featuring Noem. One of the companies — Safe America Media — has no office, no website, and no social media presence, and was formed eight days before winning its DHS contract.
Democrat Interrupts His Own Interview to Fact-Check Ted Cruz Interview. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) turned heads on Tuesday while conducting an interview with MS NOW host Nicolle Wallace. As Murphy was speaking to Wallace, he noted that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was being interviewed by far-right Newsmax’s Greta Van Susteren about the Iran War. After Cruz claimed the recent Iran strikes were about ending its nuclear program, Murphy said: “Getting rid of the nuclear program has nothing to do with this mission.”
