WASHINGTO: Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, a self-declared opponent of “undefined wars” and regime change, is now going on the offensive against critics of President Donald Trump’s attack on Iran, while unapologetically backing the conflict.
Critics say the objectives of the Iran war are ill defined, the justification is frequently shifting, the timeline is open-ended: It is the kind of conflict Hegseth fought in — and denounced — but is now defending.
“America is winning — decisively, devastatingly and without mercy,” Hegseth said Wednesday. “We have only just begun to hunt, dismantle, demoralize, destroy and defeat their capabilities.”
“To the media outlets and political left screaming endless wars: Stop. This is not Iraq. This is not endless,” he said two days earlier. “Our generation knows better, and so does this president.”
The war is the fifth major international US military intervention under Hegseth, following strikes on Yemeni rebels, an operation targeting Iranian nuclear sites, attacks on alleged drug-smuggling boats, and a raid to seize Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
