Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth counters critics of the Iran conflict, asserting America is winning decisively and rejecting comparisons to past wars.
WASHINGTON: Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth is aggressively defending President Donald Trump’s war against Iran, rejecting criticism that it mirrors the “undefined wars” he once denounced.
A decorated infantry officer with combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hegseth now declares the current conflict a decisive victory for America.
“America is winning — decisively, devastatingly and without mercy,” Hegseth said. “We have only just begun to hunt, dismantle, demoralize, destroy and defeat their capabilities.”
He has specifically targeted media outlets and political opponents who label the campaign an endless war. “This is not Iraq. This is not endless,” Hegseth stated earlier in the week. “Our generation knows better, and so does this president.”
The Iran war marks the fifth major US military intervention under his oversight. Previous operations included strikes on Yemeni rebels, attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, actions against alleged drug-smuggling boats, and a raid targeting Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
Until this conflict, American casualties under these operations had been minimal. Six US troops have been killed so far during the Iran war.
The 45-year-old former Fox News co-host has accused the media of focusing on negative developments to undermine the president. “We’ve taken control of Iran’s airspace and waterways without boots on the ground,” Hegseth argued. “But when a few drones get through, or tragic things happen, it’s front-page news.”
Hegseth’s tenure has been marked by several controversies. His confirmation process faced scrutiny over alleged financial mismanagement at veterans’ nonprofits and reports of excessive drinking and sexual assault.
A scandal also emerged when The Atlantic’s editor was inadvertently included in a Signal chat where Hegseth discussed imminent strikes on Yemen. Another controversy involved a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat that killed survivors from an initial attack.
He has also overseen the firing of several senior military officials, including General Charles “CQ” Brown, often with little public explanation. In a December speech, Hegseth outlined a defense philosophy opposed to “democracy-building interventionism” and “feckless nation building.”
“Peace is our goal,” he told the Reagan National Defense Forum. Less than three months later, the United States was at war with Iran, a conflict that has since expanded across the Middle East.
Hegseth frames the war as a necessary response to decades of Iranian aggression. “For 47 long years, the expansionist and Islamist regime in Tehran has waged a savage, one-sided war against America,” he said this week. “We didn’t start this war. But under President Trump, we are finishing it.”