Folks, I’m going to make this quick because it’s late on a Friday, but breaking news from the Washington Post: the Pentagon under Pete Hegseth’s command has been refusing to acknowledge the full count of those who died in the Iran War. The number that we’ve been told previously is 18, which combines those who are classified as having been killed during Operation Epic Fury and the part of the Iran War that Donald Trump wants to pretend isn’t a war, which they’re classifying as “overseas operations.”
Today we learned that the real count is 22. Or maybe 23. Frankly, we can’t even be sure how many, because the sources who talked to the Washington Post may be unaware of others. We simply don’t know.
That leads me to a list of questions that I have that need answering pretty damned quick, because this news has me about as furious as I’ve ever been.
Having commanded troops in the Iraq War and having men under my command make the ultimate sacrifice, I don’t grant anyone much slack when it comes to the proper recognition of what these brave heroes gave in service to America.
Here are my questions:
Why are you hiding from the American people and the media? Why haven’t you done a press conference in the Pentagon for 4 months (since early May)? You are leading the US Defense Department in a war and your reticence to engage with the media and the American people shows a shocking lack of transparency and insecurity.
What is the actual count of those killed in the Iran War? Is it 22 or 23 or more? Stop playing semantic games to try to fool people into thinking the war isn’t a war. Give us the straight answer.
What were the families of the fallen told about the circumstances around the deaths of their loved ones? Were they denied recognition for their loved ones’ service and sacrifice in war?
Who made the call to hide the number from the American people? Was it Donald Trump? Was it Pete Hegseth? Was it someone else? We deserve to know the name so that person can be held to account.
How many more people have been wounded than we know about? If they’re hiding a number of those killed, then there’s a very good chance that we have an inaccurate count of the wounded as well.
Finally, what are they going to do to make this right? What are they going to do to make it right with the families, with the men and women who served with these heroic patriots, and for the American people who have been kept in the dark about the true cost of this war? And that answer better come today. Not tomorrow, not next week. Today.
If the administration can’t answer those questions, then in my mind, a lot of people need to be shown the door.
And what about the families who will be denied death benefits because properly acknowledging the circumstances of their deaths will make Hegesth and his political mentor "look bad."
The ultimate disgrace. 😡