Recommendations of the Editorial team
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth offered the following explanation for the deaths of at least four American soldiers during “Operation Epic Fury,” the ongoing U.S. attack against Iran. which started at the weekend.
“We have air defense systems and a lot comes in – we hit most of it, we absolutely do – we have incredible air defenses. Sometimes, unfortunately, there’s one – we call him a ‘squirter’ – who makes it through, and in this case he happened to hit a tactical operations center.”
Hegseth also came up with a quick hand gesture to illustrate the trajectory of this “squirter” more clearly. The moment seemed symptomatic of an unspoken thread of the briefing: Americans are dead, and more deaths are expected.
Trump announces further losses
Donald Trump released a video on Sunday in which he openly acknowledged this and announced the deaths of three soldiers. “Unfortunately, there will probably be more before it’s over – that’s just the way it is,” the president said. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, joined the president as he spoke alongside Hegseth at the Pentagon on Monday, noting that the military expects to “incur further casualties” as operations continue. (The death of a fourth American was announced around the time Hegseth and Caine spoke Monday.)
“We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump we are ending it,” Hegseth said. “An operation of this magnitude involves casualties. War is hell and always will be.”
Hegseth’s use of the word “war” is notable because Congress – the only branch of the federal government with the authority to officially declare war – has not declared one. The attack on Iran is deeply unpopular and threatens to create a destabilizing quagmire in the Middle East that is reflexively rejected by large segments of the American population who have lived through decades of the “War on Terror.” As always, however, a certain group of servile Republicans and administration officials have thrown their full support behind the president.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) suggested in a tweet that some soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq may have been “Nazis.” An attempt to damage progressive Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, who came under fire months ago for a tattoo related to Nazi symbolism (Platner claims he knew nothing about it and has since had it done). Trump’s former national security adviser and acting UN ambassador Mike Waltz responded to the news that several soldiers involved in the Iran operations had been killed or injured with the platitude: “Freedom is never free.”
No rules, no time frame
Trump, Hegseth and Caine have made it clear that the price will continue to rise. Trump and Hegseth have both declined to rule out the possibility of “boots on the ground.” Hegseth, who insisted this was not another diffuse “forever war” in the Middle East, declined to give a time frame for the operation. “I would never give a time frame from our perspective. The commander in chief dictates the operational tempo and the conditions of this fight,” Hegseth said.
Even more disturbing was Hegseth’s bold declaration that the United States would not comply with nationally and internationally recognized rules of engagement.
“Capable partners are good partners, unlike so many of our traditional allies who wring their hands and fiddle with their pearls and push back on the use of force,” Hegseth said. “Despite what so-called international institutions say, we are unleashing the deadliest and most precise airstrike campaign in history. B2 bombers, drones, missiles and of course classified effects – all on our terms, with maximum authority. No stupid Rules of Engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy-building exercise, no politically correct wars.”
Time and lives are consumed
“We fight to win and we do not waste time or lives,” emphasized the defense minister.
And yet, in Iran, both time and lives are consumed in ways that the vast majority of Americans consider too high a price.
