Self-styled U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on March 10 asserted what he may think will deflect concern over findings that the U.S. committed mass murder by bombing an Iranian girls’ school. In Hegeth’s March 10 briefing at the Pentagon, he said of Iran, “They fire missiles from schools and hospitals deliberately, deliberately targeting innocents because they know their military is being systematically degraded and annihilated.”
This is hallmark Hegseth arrogance, which was on full display March 8, in the interview that CBS News’ “60 Minutes” recorded with him, which was posted on Sunday night. A few excerpts follow from the transcript of the 26 minute session:
• For Hegseth, war is peace: “There’s a reason we changed our name from the Department of Defense to the Department of War. Not because we seek war, not because we want more war. Frankly, we want peace. That’s what the President has put us in charge of creating a world where we can live more peacefully. But if war is necessary, call it war, call it conflict, call it a campaign, call it an operation, call it a contingency, call it what you want.”
Later, he said: “Trump called those wars [Iraq and Afghanistan] dumb and we’re not fighting that way and so that’s the paradigm I hope Americans will look at this this is a President who believes that American strength is important that we get more peace in the world when we are strong and that the Iranian regime seeking these kinds of nuclear weapons it was an unacceptable risk for the United States of America and he took action and what you’re seeing now is overwhelming swift action not to simply compel a slight change in a week, but to truly get rid of that threat and provide maximum options and decision space for the president on behalf of American interests in the world.”
