Transcription
Well, you know what they say. You can't spell incompetent without Pete. Pete Haggath just appeared in front of Congress and, as I'm sure you can imagine, it went really well for him.
"Real muscle behind our warriors. You should be arrested."
The American people do not want to go to this. We don't want to fight any.
"Wishes that coffee was something else."
I can tell you that it's been a while since we've talked about Trump's illegal and offensive war on Iran. But if you've had the pleasure of filling your car up with $4 gas as of late, then I shouldn't have to tell you that things are still looking pretty bad. The average price of a gallon of gas is now $4.30.
"And you know what? And we're not going to have a nuclear weapon in the hands of Iran."
"That's great, man. I was really worried about that."
It's not like their supreme leader had issued a fatwa in 2003 forbidding the production and use of nuclear weapons by the Islamic Republic of Iran, then signed a non-proliferation agreement with Obama in 2015, explicitly stating that they would not pursue a nuclear weapon, which Trump ripped apart before killing the guy who issued the fatwa. Oh, wait. That's exactly what happened. Then why are we STILL PAYING OUT THE ASS?
"The gas will go down as soon as the war's over. It'll drop like a rock. There's so much of it. It's all over the place, sitting all over the oceans of the world, and it'll be it'll go down."
"Thanks for saying that, Mr. President. And I I do want to trust you. It's not like you've ever lied to me before, but I would love if we could maybe have some kind of timeline at least on when you think the prices might come down. If we've already wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on this excursion, the least you could do is let the taxpayers know when it all might be over."
But what won't happen is if Iran had a nuclear weapon and used it, then the whole world is a different place.
"That's awesome, sir. But why are we talking about a different hypothetical world and not dealing with the world as it exists today?"
Because in this world, your own director of national intelligence testified under oath that Iran was in fact not building a nuclear weapon and that their supreme leader had not reauthorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003. I mean, that's literally what she told the Senate last year. But back then, the president simply responded, "I don't care what she said." And attacked her on anyway. So, if we're just flat out ignoring the findings of our own intelligence community, who can we trust? America has made its resolution and that resolution was to soak Pete Hex up.
"How you feeling about"
"Oh, there it is."
"Uh, I feel good. You know, I'm just adding a little bit of extra. That's already in there anyway. What do we care? OPEN IT UP."
"THERE IT IS."
Duncan Dad on New Year's Eve. All right. Of course, he looks respectable to me. Forget that email his mom sent him in 2018. You know, when she told him, "You are an abuser of women." that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego. You twist and abuse everything I say on behalf of all the women, and I know it's many, you have abused in some way. Get some help and take an honest look at yourself. Ignore the accusations of sexual assault that he was investigated for. Ignore that he paid $50,000 to a woman who threatened to sue him for raping her. Ignore the open secret of his drinking problem and that he was said to have drunkenly chanted, "Kill all Muslims." Many of your work colleagues have said that you show up for work under the influence of alcohol or drunk. I know you've denied that, but you would agree with me, right, that if that was the case, that would be disqualifying for somebody to be Secretary of Defense.
"Senator, those are all anonymous, false claims."
"And the totality, they're not they're not anonymous. Letters on the record here on the record. We've seen records with names attached to freedom concerned vets for America and Fox News. One of your colleagues working hard every day one of your colleagues said that you got drunk at an event at a bar and chanted kill all Muslims. Another colleague, not anonymous, we have this said that you took co-workers to a strip club. You were drunk. You tried to dance with strippers. You had to be held off the stage. and one of your employees in that event filed a sexual harassment charge as a result of it. Now, I know you denied these things, but I isn't that the kind of behavior that if true would be disqualifying for somebody to be Secretary of Defense."
"Senator, anonymous, false charges."
"They're not anonymous. You claim that this was all anonymous. We have seen records with names attached to all of these, including the name of your own mother. So don't make this into some anonymous press thing. We have seen multiple names of colleagues consistently throughout your career that have talked about your abusive actions over time."
"And that's a clip from his confirmation hearing. Fast forward a year and a half and this drunkard's department has conducted itself with the exact kind of unaccountable belligerence you would expect from a guy who got sued for hurling an axe into a crowd of people on Fox News. That guy is now responsible for the deaths of thousands of men, women, and children that his department has killed overseas as a part of this ridiculous war that nobody wanted or asked for. Or at least that's what the lying liberal media wants you to think. Us patriots know the evil left is just ungrateful and wants to smear the bravest secretary of war this nation has ever seen. Anyone who says otherwise should simply shut up and take a look at the polite and honorable way this wonderful Christian man carries himself in front of Congress. As I said yesterday, and I'll say it again today, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless naysayers and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans. Defeatists from the cheap seats who two months in seek to undermine the incredible efforts that have been undertaken and the historic nature of taking on a 47-year threat with the courage no other president has had. So he agrees our greatest adversary isn't Iran. Jokes aside, it is pretty remarkable to see such a high-ranking government official claiming on such a public stage that the real enemies are those who refuse to unquestionably support endless death and destruction in the Middle East. That's sure to tone down the rhetoric. As the war hits its 60-day mark, Pete Hgsth and other top military brass were hauled in front of both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to answer questions and make the case as to why we should continue lighting billions of dollars on fire to keep the excursion going. Rest assured, Pete came equipped with his usual combiveness and deflection techniques that have become a staple of the second Trump administration, where criticism is unacceptable and accountability doesn't exist. One of the most telling moments came from his exchange with Representative Sarah Jacobs, where she asked the secretary point blank about how he feels in regard to the president's mental fitness. On Easter Sunday, President Trump threatened to destroy Iran's bridges and power plants, writing, quote, 'Open the [ __ ] straight, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in hell. Just watch.' And two days later, President Trump wrote, quote, 'A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will.' My office's phones have been ringing off the hook. I've heard from so many military families concerned about the president's mental fitness and whether he's fit to serve as our commander-in-chief given that he's sending their loved ones into harm's way. Our troops who have shown incredible bravery and tactical proficiency deserve to know that their leaders are focused and stable. So, Mr. Secretary, you are with the president a lot, and it pains me to even have to ask this about our president, but my constituents' lives are at stake. Do you believe that the president is mentally stable enough to be the commander-in-chief?"
"Um, did you ask the same question of Joe Biden for four years? Okay, here we go."
The fact that he refused to answer the question upfront with a simple yes or no speaks volumes. If this president is so competent and so mentally sound, then why can't you just say that without having to compare him to a guy who pretty much everyone agrees had a brain like a bowl of oatmeal? If we're letting Joe Biden set the bar here, that's a pretty low bar for Trump to clear, don't you think? One that I don't think he does clear, by the way.
"We should give him a cognitive test. I took three of them. Aced all of them, by the way."
"You know, I'm the only president I'm the only president to take a cognitive test. You know, the first question is very easy. It's a lion, a giraffe, a bear, and a shark. They say, 'Which one is the bear?' And everybody says, 'Oh, 30 questions.' Everyone says, 'Very standard.' It's a very standard test, but very tough. Around those last 10 questions, not too many people, even in this very room, a lot of you wouldn't have been able to answer those 10 questions. And when I got the score in the test, the doctor said, 'Wow.'"
I also just don't understand this never-ending obsession with a past president. We've moved on. Don't pretend it isn't completely valid for people to question the sanity of a president who threatens entire civilizations on a whim and thinks he's Jesus. Guys like Pete have one note and it's deflecting to the previous administration whenever they're too weak and unwilling to answer for their own ineptitude and corruption. And I understand it might work on the dumbest people in the country, but it won't work in a room like this.
"Mr. Secretary, Joe Biden is not the president. Mr. Trump has been president for a year and a half and I'm asking you"
"not and I won't even engage with the level of disparagement that you're putting on the commander-in-chief who indeed uh is I I mean every I mean every single day"
"Mr. Secretary Biden is not the president, most insightful commander-in-chief we've had in generations. And you want to compare, I mean, you want to ask that question after you and your fellow Democrats defended Joe Biden, who could barely speak and then govern through an autopin. If I could go the rest of my life without ever hearing the word auto pen again, what a beautiful life that would be. Imagine expecting average Americans to care about Biden's auto pen when they can't put food on the table without having to work multiple jobs and can't afford gas because of this [ __ ] ridiculous jaunt through the Middle East that you and your Christian nationalist cronies couldn't help but take. But go on and keep acting like Trump is a reasonable and competent leader and that we actually shouldn't question any of what this administration does because Biden used an auto pen for"
"I will reclaim my time lady's time. She reclaimed it."
"So as Mr. Jimenez said we should be taking leaders at their word. So is there a reason that we should not be taking our leader at his word?"
"Iran should not underestimate the will of President Trump and the United States military to uh achieve our mission."
"Okay. Well, I I want you to know this is not a partisan thing. In fact, many many Democrats have had and many many Republicans have had these same questions. Marjorie Taylor Green said he's out of control and he's gone insane. Candace Owens said the 25th amendment needs to be invoked. Megan Kelly, Tucker Carlson, who used to work with, Alex Jones, Stephanie Gisham, the list could go on. So, how do I explain to my constituents that while they are in harm's way, their commander-in-chief is posting these unhinged posts?"
"How did you explain to your constituents what happened on October or what happened in Afghanistan or what happened with the debacle and the withdrawal in Afghanistan where the troops were left? How did you explain that Joe Biden's leadership? Mr. Secretary, how did you explain that to the Marines that didn't get medals that we restored their medals because of that disastrous in Afghanistan?"
"Oh my god. These people have nothing. They have nothing. They want us to just sit there and eat those higher gas prices, the higher food and grocery prices that are going to come as a result of the Strait of Hormuz being closed. They want you to sit there and take it because Biden pulled out of Afghanistan and didn't hand out the proper medals or something. Give me a break. This administration doesn't want to serve you. They just want you to praise them endlessly as they execute their violent agenda. And if you dare question that agenda, well, then you must just hate this country. In fact, he might just be the greatest adversary we have."
"The mental stability of our commander-in-chief is deeply important to our troops. It's deeply important to this country. It isn't important to you during mistake. I'll remind you that when there were concerns, Democrats came together and he was not our nominee for president. So, I encourage you to do have the same courage that Democrats had. Mr. Secretary, you keep saying that he is the best commander-in-chief we've ever had, the best negotiator"
"back to the troops. 13 American troops have died. More than 380 have been wounded. The Strait of Hormuz, which was wide open, is now closed. Less than 90% of traffic through the strait, is still not going despite the ceasefire. The Iranian regime is still in power. It still has nuclear material. The war is costing Americans billions of dollars. And Mr. Secretary, if you think that this is what winning looks like, then maybe we should be questioning your mental stability. Maybe you are the one responsible for this failure. and the president should think about replacing you."
"Look at that stupid [ __ ] face. I hope he knows he's out of here the second he becomes too much of a liability for Trump. And with the way he's handling these questions, that time might just come sooner than later."
"Mr. Secretary, you mentioned the the nuclear aspect of Iran and the war. And it is worth noting that every president prior to this one, including President Trump in his first term, also prevented Iran from getting a nuclear weapon without actually having to go to war in Iran. So, we need to keep that in mind. But also since the war started, Iran's nuclear arsenal has not been weakened in any way. And at the moment in negotiations, what Iran is saying, basically, pay us to open up the strait. That that's their position, which is completely untenable. I agree. Um, it's worth noting, of course, that the strait was open before the war started. Now we're negotiating to get back to status quo. And Iran's most recent offer is to say, we'll talk about nukes later. So, what is the plan to actually turn all of this lethal kinetic action into an improvement in the nuclear situation? Because we haven't gotten there yet. Play it out for us. How does that happen? How does it actually lead to that result?"
"Well, I would take issue with the premise of the question that nothing was done. Operation Midnight Hammer was a a very effective"
"Well, I didn't say nothing was done. I said in this war ultimately war started. Well, this is this under this administration unlike other administrations which cut bad deals and pallets of cash with no ability to oversee whether Iran is actually pursuing a nuclear program. You want to litigate JCPOA or the Iran deal. Our view, the president's views, that was a very bad deal that gave them a bunch of money up front to fund. You talked about negotiated deals funded allowed them to fund their proxies and spread Hamas and Hezbollah all around the region, build up nuclear capabilities. What are we going to do now? President Trump has been cleareyed from the killing of Kasumsmani to the pulling out of the Iran deal to Midnight Hammer and now to this effort to recognize that you have to stare down this kind of enemy who's hellbent on getting a nuclear weapon."
"So, no specifics there, just vague talking points that he seems to have gotten directly from Trump. This is the kind of stuff you'd say at a campaign rally, not a House budget hearing, but go on. Let's see how this plays out."
"Their nuclear facilities have been obliterated underground. They're buried and watching them 24/7. So we know where any nuclear material"
"claiming my time for a quick second here."
"We had to start this war, you just said 60 days ago because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat. Now you're saying that it was completely obliterated."
"They had not given up their nuclear ambitions and they had a conventional shield of thousands of"
"So operation midnight hamburger comp of substance. You're missing the same place we were before."
"How is he missing the point? Sounds like you are unable to provide a consistent explanation for why we had to do any of this to begin with. You say they still had nuclear ambitions, but why does that matter if we, as you claimed, obliterated their capacity to create a nuclear weapon? All of this, by the way, ignores the findings of Tulsi Gabbard, who claimed they did not have such ambitions. It just feels like you're trying to confuse people on purpose because you know there was no actual threat from Iran. As Joe Kent was also to say after he stepped down as counterterrorism director. Joe Kent who is not exactly much of a peaceloving dove himself. If even he could admit there was no threat here. I'm not sure who you're trying to fool. How much did it cost American taxpayers in terms of the strike to the Iranian school where kids were killed? Do you have that number? In terms of the missiles we used."
"as I've said, that uh unfortunate situation remains under investigation."
"You don't know how investigation, but I wouldn't tie a cost to that to anything."
"It's a reasonable question. No, sir. I mean, our taxpayer money was going there. Notice how he just didn't answer that one at all. You don't want to tie a cost to that to anything. What does that mean? The Pentagon isn't keeping track of what it strikes and how much those strikes cost the American taxpayer. That sounds pretty irresponsible to me. Or maybe you just don't want to grapple with the reality that we obliterated a school full of children, so you've decided to hide behind the guise of there being an ongoing investigation. Could it be the same ongoing military investigation the New York Times reported on back in March, which determined the US was responsible for the deadly Tomahawk cruise missile attack on the elementary school? Or are you just going to ignore all of that and play dumb because you don't want to admit to war crimes in front of the Armed Services Committee?"
"Do you know how much it will cost Americans in terms of their increased cost in gas and food over the next year because of the Iran war?"
"I would simply ask you what the cost is of an Iranian nuclear bomb."
"I'm going to give you that."
"I would simply ask you what the You're playing gotcha questions about domestic things. I'm not"
"You're asking You're saying it's a gotcha question to ask what it's going to be in terms of the increased cost."
"Why won't you answer what it costs to to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb?"
"I give you that, sir. But let me"
"What would it cost? What would you pay to ensure Iran doesn't get a nuclear bomb?"
"Do you What would you pay,"
"Pete? You don't get to ask questions like that, like you or your family feel the financial repercussions of this war. You are a multi-millionaire daytime Fox News host who hasn't had to pay attention to the cost of gas or groceries in God knows how long. You have no idea what you're asking of the average American worker when you say stupid like, 'What would you pay?' I don't know, man. But your own administration said they weren't trying to get a bomb. So again, why are we doing any of this at all? Why was any of it necessary? You haven't convinced the American people of that. And you're certainly not about to convince them the price is worth it either. Do you not know? You had no one do the analysis of what the increased cost of gas and food on the American people are going to be."
"What is the cost of Iran holding that strait at issue with nuclear weapons?"
"It's $631 billion, which means it's an increase of $5,000 a year for American households."
Imagine for a second that you're the secretary of war. The entire country is speculating that you might at some point become the fall guy for what is clearly one of the most unpopular wars in modern history waged by one of the most unpopular administrations in modern history. You also probably want to be president one day. But of course, it's going to be hard to do that if you're fired before the end of your term and become a pariah. The fate of your political career might very well rest on your ability to effectively field questions in this hearing. and you didn't come prepared with exact numbers and figures. You seriously have no idea how much this thing is costing the average American. Did you just not think you were going to GET GRILLED ON THAT? Apart from the obvious bloodlust, it should be clear to everyone that Pete Hexth is simply too stupid to be in government, much less responsible for the most powerful military on the planet. I mean, the guy was a [ __ ] daytime TV HOST BEFORE HE GOT HERE. I He hasn't had to work for [ __ ] He isn't some seasoned political or military mastermind who clawed his way up to this position out of sheer will. And I think we're witnessing that ineptitude play out in real time as he again has to bring up Joe Biden as a crutch. Will you acknowledge that there is an economic cost to the American people for doing what you believe is necessary to make Iran uh denuclear? Will you acknowledge the economic cost? We have an incredible economic team that's managing this better than"
"Yeah. what the previous administration did to our economy. What the previous administration did with inflation know what the you know what's upsetting administration did with co and you're going to this administration about the economy."
"You know what is upsetting to you didn't even do the analysis on how much it's costing the American people. It's one thing if you said okay it cost the American people $5,000 but we think it's worth it. Uh that's what we've done in World War II and other wars. Here's what it costs. You got to pay for it. You don't even know what the average American is paying. You don't know what we paid in terms of the missiles that hit the Iranian school. You don't know what we're paying in terms of gas. You don't know what we're paying in terms of food. Your 25 billion number is totally off. It's the incompetence. It's the incompetence. Why are you laughing? Thousands of dead Iranians, 13 dead American soldiers, hundreds wounded. Toxic rain is pouring down over Iran, and hundreds of parents are now without their children thanks to your depraved actions. And here you are laughing about it because you know you can't refute any of what he's saying. You have nothing of substance to offer other than your typical bland, meaningless talking points. Will you acknowledge that there were 970 pounds of uranium enriched uh after Trump to up the JCPOA?"
"The JCPOA was a terrible deal that allowed Iran a path to a nuclear bomb."
"You you deal with vague platitudes. I'm asking you about numbers like you don't know what gas costs. You don't know what food costs. You don't know what the operation costs. You know, I get sound bites, but how about numbers? Do you know how much the enriched uranium was after you ripped up the JCPOA trumpet?"
"I'll give you a number. I know that as was stated by uh early on, the price of gas is twice as expensive in California, your home state, as anywhere else in the country, because of the horrible policies your state pursued."
"Oh, I know this guy isn't talking about California gas prices. [ __ ] you and Trump are on an endless quest to turn the rest of the country into California. Today, I paid $4 for gas in Texas. What a completely pathetic and weak argument. Even for Pete's stupid ass. You said you won't get us into bad wars. You said you wouldn't you would bring down the prices. You know what I'm sad for? I'm sad for all the people who voted for Trump. I'm sad for them because you betrayed them. You've betrayed a lot of that MAGA base. God, he just has no idea how much he's screwing himself. It's kind of great. If you thought it couldn't get any worse, though, former US Army intelligence officer and now Democratic representative from New York, Pat Ryan, who served in Iraq at the same time as Hexath decided to use his time to press the secretary on how his recklessness affected our own troops. Gentleman yields back. Chair, I recognize gentleman from New York, Mr. Ryan."
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Head wounds, heavy bleeding, and then just shrapnel all over. So folks are bleeding from their abdomen, bleeding from arms, bleeding from legs. Secretary Hegth, do you know who said that?"
"Um, I'm not sure I do."
"It was one of our soldiers describing the devastating Iranian drone strike at Porta March 1st in Kuwait. As you know, six of our soldiers killed, over 30 wounded. Secretary, do you know the range of the Shahed 136 oneway attack drone? Approximately,"
"it depends on the variant, but it's got serious distance."
"Several hundred miles."
"Do you know how far Porta is from Iran?"
"Um, there's a reason why we took it's extreme protection because we understand the proximity challenges."
"Mr. Chair, I'm going to reclaim my time. It's well under 100 miles. Before the war started, there was clear intelligence that Schuea was high on Iran's target list. Internal analysis that said the site was indefensible from aerial attack and should not be used. Yet, you sent our soldiers from the 103rd Sustainment Command there. Anyway, is that true or false? True or false? Straightforward question."
"Are you going to give me a chance to answer or just play gotcha?"
"He's giving you a chance to answer right now and you're calling it a gotcha question. Just answer the [ __ ] question. How is it a gotcha to ask about your handling of your troops?"
"Did you send them there or not?"
"I always we have we took proactive measures from the beginning to ensure force protection and defensive posture were maximized across the theater."
"Well, that's not a no."
"Let's talk about what defenses they had."
"Prior to the attack, officers on the ground knew our troops were vulnerable. In fact, they requested additional force protection. Did they receive it?"
"Wherever humanly possible, force protection counter UAS always made available."
"They did not. In fact, when asked to describe the base's defense, one survivor who's come forward from the unit said, quote, 'I mean, I would put it in the none category from a drone defense capability. None.' So, let's be clear. No counter drone capabilities, no counter rocket systems, no counter mortar or counter artillery, not even the basic overhead protection that you and I had 20 years ago in Iraq. And now, six of our soldiers are dead. The next day, you downplayed the attack. You said it was a squirter that squeaked through fortified defenses. But since then, thankfully, brave survivors have come forward to set the record straight. One of our surviving soldiers told CBS, quote, 'Painting a picture that one squeak through is a falsehood.' Another said the unit was quote unprepared to provide any defense for itself. It was not a fortified position. Another survivor said the building's protection was about as weak as one gets. Secretary Hexath, that is obviously in direct contradiction to what you said from the Pentagon podium the next day. So, are you saying that these soldiers, our soldiers who survived this horrific attack are lying?"
"What I'm saying is before the commencement of of the conflict, we put in maximum defensive posture we could. It's a direct contact. We moved 70 in this in this directing. Can I speak or are you just going to monologue falsehoods all all over the place?"
"It's not a falsehood."
"We moved 7,500 troops off. I mean, if you're calling it a falsehood, then yeah, it sounds like you're calling the survivors of the attack liars, which is fine if that's the hill you want to die on, but at least offer something to back up your claim."
"The intel."
"Stop."
"Based on the intel,"
"stop reclaiming my time."
"Because you yell doesn't make you right."
"Just cuz you yell doesn't make you right."
"claiming my time on behalf of these survivors."
"This is quite literally a question of life or death, Pete. How are you able to sit there and chastise the man for getting a little heated, especially when you refuse to offer any adequate rebuttal to what these surviving troops have alleged? Of course, he's going to get frustrated. Anyone would."
"You just said what they said is a falsehood."
"There's a much larger picture. There's a much larger picture at play here that included integrated air defenses, bunkers, moving people off the Mr. to ensure that they were not part of the target. We moved those troops and all across the theater, thousands of troops off the X, off of their bases because we knew what Iran was going to try to strike and we knew there was a tragic moment. There could be a tragic moment where something could get through. Of course, that's the consequence of conflict and we remember those six every single day. But don't play games with"
"I'm not playing games. I want to finish with one more quote"
"from a survivor of the attack and this on the record. Telling the truth is important and we're not going to learn from these mistakes if we pretend these mistakes didn't happen. Secretary Hath, those soldiers told the truth. Those soldiers are braver than you are."
"I commend."
"They are asked. You commend those soldiers? You're calling them liars in front of Congress. What are you doing? This is hardly different from this administration's approach to releasing the Epstein files. By the way, they claim to support victims while smearing and discrediting them as untrustworthy liars, basically. So, which one is it? Pick a side and stick to it. You don't get to have it both ways, you pathetic weasel. They deserve accountability. And I'm asking for the same, starting with you. And as I said a year ago, you need to resign immediately."
"I commend those."
"I yield back. Gentleman yields back."
"And that's just pretty much how the exchange ends. did nothing but warm wishes and kind words for the people he put in harm's way and got killed again for no reason whatsoever. It's one thing to be bad at your job, but when being bad at your job means people lose their lives in a conflict they didn't ask for and barely understand, I think Pete's resignation is the bare minimum. This guy would be prosecuted for war crimes in a just world."
"On March 13th, in a press conference, you said we will give them no quarter, no mercy. in order for no quarter or no survivors is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions. You understand that's murder. Do you stand by that statement?"
"Uh the Department of War fights to win and we ensure that our war fighters have the rules of engagement necessary to be as effective. You call Democratic members of Congress to be tried for sedition for reminding our troops to follow law. But when you tell them to commit a war crime, you stand by yourself"
"for insinuating the laws that we're giving them are laws. I don't know why you're acting stupid. No quarter. It just is a war crime. It's spelled out very plainly in the Geneva Conventions. Anyone can go look it up right now. So, either you didn't know it was a war crime. Or you did know and you made the order anyway. And honestly, I'm not sure which one is worse. But while we're on the topic of war crimes, now it's time for Pete to answer for the drug boats our military has been blowing up indiscriminately in the Caribbean. I want to talk briefly about the current US doctrine and conduct of the administration in a particular event and and a series of events actually. As everybody in the dis and the witness table uh is aware, the department of defense law of war manual specifies that any order to kill shipwrecked persons in illegal order would constitute a war crime. It isn't suggested. There's a specific example to show a clear-cut example of what this entails in our own manual. With that in mind, let's look back a few weeks ago in a fishing crew ended a long day of hard fishing, scoring a full stock of albacore and swordfish on board. Without any warning or expectation, this small Ecuadorian fishing vessel operating about 200 nautical miles off the Galapagos Islands was militarily engaged by US forces. It was hit once, then it was hit again. Not a warning shot, not an interdiction, two drone strikes. Survivors described chaos and severe injuries. Our US forces then handcuffed the crew at gunpoint, placed black hoods over their heads, seized and scrubbed their devices, and then held them for days. Ultimately, the crew was released given there was no evidence, no evidence to support any narco activity or any charges that may be against them. So to recap, we struck a vessel, we struck it again, set fire to as it as it was sinking, and as public reports say, even drank their beer. We we detain the survivors and then we let them go. This should be eye opening."
Imagine hearing all that coming from a sitting US congressman, not some fringe left-wing media outlet, mind you, but from an elected representative going on the record, and still think that we, the United States of America, are in any way benevolent in how we carry ourselves around the world. What this guy just described sounds like something a terrorist organization would do. Don't you think we should expect a little bit better from our military? And trust me, he isn't done. The Defense Department still refuses to release the follow-up video of the killing of the shipwrecked survivors, even though they released the initial one to the public in major news networks worldwide. No difference in sources and methods in the two videos, but still not released to the public. I hope we can review whether these uh are justified because I found no justification. We were given classified information on the second strike. I can't discuss it, but I must tell you it's the most convoluted [ __ ] I ever heard in my life. This should be public. This is our honor. This is what it makes American a differencemaker. This is what we're
"incredible array of false accusations."
"And I yield back time."
I sincerely hope we see a day sometime after this whole fever dream of Trump 2.0 is over with where everyone from top officials like Pete Hegsth to the lower ranking thugs who executed these extrajudicial killings face legal ramifications for what they've done. We simply shouldn't move on from this like it never happened. We have to ensure that justice is served for the sake of everyone harmed by this secretary and his repulsive cronies. And with that, now we head over to the Senate where Hagath was asked by Senator Mark Kelly, who he had previously accused of sedition for merely reminding our troops not to follow illegal orders. Again, whether war crimes had been committed under the secretary's no quarter policy. It's my understanding that the definition of no quarter is that legitimate offers of surrender will be refused or that detainees will be executed. Is that your understanding of the definition? The only entity that would kill detainees or target civilians is the Iranians and they're the ones being crushed.
"So brother, you're the one that said no quarter though. Is there any question under the [ __ ] sun that you'd be willing to answer it directly? Just give me a break with all this what aboutism? It's nauseating."
"The question is I disagree completely with your articulation."
"No. Do you understand the definition that I just read you because that's the definition from your department's law of war manual. Is that your understanding?"
"And I'm going to I'm going to just get to the point here."
"We we fight to win and we follow the law, Senator."
"Okay. So,"
"well, no. Quarter is in fact breaking the law. And on top of that, we're not winning by any metric, no matter how much you want to sit there and lie and deflect. So look where that's all gotten us."
"Your quote was, 'We will keep pushing, keep advancing, no quarter, no mercy for our enemies.' Do you stand by that statement you made on March 13th? We have untied the hands of our war fighters. We fight to win and we follow the law."
"Okay. So you're not clarifying."
"Untied the hands of our war fighters. Sounds to me like you've given the green light for war crimes. But apparently we all have different definitions of what is clearly laid out as illegal under international law. But again, these guys don't deal in reality, which is why they're also completely ignoring how unpopular the war is in the eyes of the American public. I believe we do have the support of the American people and we have briefed regularly what this mission looks like and why it's critically important that we undertake it. And I would remind you and this group that we're two months in to an effort and many congressional Democrats, as I pointed out, want to declare defeat two months in."
"You don't care when"
"when the American people and the American people are quite smart. They understand and see through spin."
"Yeah, they do. And that's why two months into a war that you guys initially said would only take a couple weeks, six out of 10 Americans are able to recognize that military intervention in Iran was a mistake. 91% of Democrats, 71% of independents who helped you guys win by the way, and 61% of adults as a whole are against what you are doing right now. And if you think that popularity is about to increase the longer this drags on, you might just be ingesting something a little stronger than alcohol. But that doesn't mean there aren't equally out of touch Republicans in the Senate willing to glaze Mr. Hagath regardless."
"Well, first thanks thank each of you for being here. Secretary Hitchith, can you talk about you've had the job for a little bit. What's your What are you most proud of? And uh what are your biggest challenges?"
"Oh my god. Are you [ __ ] kidding me? What are you most proud of? What a complete and utter disgrace of a question. You are a United States senator who instead of asking meaningful questions is playing patty cake with a rapist war criminal by hitting him with ice breakers you'd hear at a freshman orientation in college. Okay, everybody, let's go around the room and say our favorite colors. Get the [ __ ] out of here, you smug, repulsive skeletor looking [ __ ]. You physically resemble a demon from hell and judging by your background, you basically are one."
"Well, I appreciate the question and and"
"Oh, I'm sure you do, pal. Secretary Hexth, um you're doing a great job. I I've been in Washington for 10 years, several secretaries of defense, now Secretary of War. You're you're the best that we've had since I've been in Washington."
"Oh my god. Why even show up if you're just going to sit there and glaze the guy? What good does this do for your constituents back home who are rightfully concerned about the war? You think you're doing right by them, the people you have a responsibility to serve? What a laughably sad and uncritical performance from the Republicans as always."
"Both to you uh Secretary Hegsth and to uh the chairman. I want to thank you both uh for the time that you take to recognize our fallen and those that have given uh of course during this administration given their all. Uh you have traveled to do and have been there to greet those families and to welcome home the fallen. Uh I've been there with you and Iowa has been hit in particular very hard. We lost two of our Iowa National Guardsmen from the second brigade combat team, 34th Infantry Division. Secretary Hegsth, you know full well the 34th. Um but uh we also lost six members from the 103rd Sustainment Command Expeditionary uh based out of De Moine, Iowa during this current conflict. And again, uh your presence there meant a lot to the families. Um it also meant a lot to me. So, uh, thank you very much for taking the time to do that."
Guess what, Joanie Ernst? Those service members wouldn't be dead if it weren't for the hubris of people like Pete Hegth and Donald Trump who happily charged forward into this conflict because Israel told them it was a great idea. Those aren't my words, by the way. Those are the words of your fellow Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. Sort of tired of all this uh armchair quarterbacking and this been amazing military operation. God bless the fallen.
But it's a difference when we talk about troops on the ground. I trust the Marines, not that guy. I trust DoD. We got two Marine Expeditionary units sailing to this island. We did Egoima. We can do this. This guy doesn't need praise for anything. He needs to be hauled in front of the H and forced to answer for his reckless incompetence. But you're never going to ask for that, so why even bother? I guess they'll just keep holding hands and singing Kumbaya with a drunk rapist until the unpopularity of this war catches up to them in the midterms. and then it'll become impossible for them to ignore. But until then, this video's gone on way too long. Those were some of the key moments I saw, and that's about all I got.