The Guardian reports:

In a different Washington, under a different president, a return to the well-worn playbook of all-out sanctions to counter Iran might have been the signal for a publicity-hungry US secretary of defense to adopt a lower profile.

But these are no ordinary times. And Pete Hegseth is no ordinary defense secretary.

Barely a week after the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, unleashed a supposed “economic D-day” aimed at crushing the regime in Tehran under the weight of commercial pressures, Hegseth once again returned to the limelight – and the center of controversy.

The former Fox News host usurped Bessent from center stage as the conflict with Iran reverted to open warfare and discontent at the Pentagon was laid bare once more.

Turf wars within Hegseth’s own fiefdom resurfaced with the resignation of the army secretary, fresh revelations of blocked promotions and leaked disclosures of resistance from military top brass of extended deployments to the Middle East.

While the Pentagon insists that any suggestion the defense department is in disarray under Hegseth is “completely baseless”, alarm over his conduct in the role – and the implications – has not merely been expressed by Hegseth’s political opponents.

“The secretary of defense is a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States and the world,” said Randy Manner, a retired major general in the US national guard – in which Hegseth also served – and member of National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A), a group of former military leaders. “He has done more harm to the national security of the United States than any secretary of defense since the country was created.” [Continue reading…]