General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums"Here honey, I want you to hold on to these classified documents"?
Really Pete? You took your wife to classified meetings? What, did you really think this one out? How many other secrets did you tell her or to anyone else who would listen?
This has to be the most incompetent DOD in history? What an absolute disgrace to anyone who served before you! Please do us a favor and resign now, not tomorrow, not next week, NOW!

dchill
(41,892 posts)Irish_Dem
(67,715 posts)Irish_Dem
(67,715 posts)Musk, Vance, Hegseth.
magicarpet
(17,963 posts)He knows this,... but he is trying desperately to prove to everyone that he is the alpha male macho man who has graduated to the Master of the Warmonger's Universe.
His presents casts the only shadow over the most powerful weapons on earth. Pete is at the helm and his index finger at the ready to launch multiple missiles and rockets to bring devastation and destruction anywhere he chooses.
Irish_Dem
(67,715 posts)And I am 100% certain that the Pentagon has assigned Hegseth a group of babysitters and minders.
Very nice colonels, agreeable, pleasant, giving Hegseth plenty of yes sir, no sir crap all day long.
But they tell him only what he needs to know, and keeps him away from blowing up too many things.
Let him focus on the Houthis and other reasonable targets. Make him feel like a big man, etc.
RandySF
(73,215 posts)John1956PA
(3,911 posts)sop
(13,559 posts)
LetMyPeopleVote
(161,377 posts)As Pete Hegseth flails, there are apparently Pentagon insiders eager to talk about the defense secretary’s struggles.
https://bsky.app/profile/stevebenen.com/post/3llopdxucnk2a
Hegseth's other problem: There appear to be Pentagon insiders who are willing to talk to reporters about his incompetence, failures, and abuses
Link to tweet
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/allegations-hegseth-mount-pentagon-chief-faces-new-kind-problem-rcna198856
It’s common for the Defense Department and other federal agencies to have liaisons. Each military branch sends liaisons to Capitol Hill. The Pentagon, State Department and others all use interagency liaisons to more closely coordinate and keep tabs on policy. But it is not common for those senior-level positions to be filled by family members of the Cabinet heads....
Despite Hegseth’s apparent preoccupation with merit-based employment decisions, his younger brother received a position of influence at the Pentagon despite a background as the founder of a podcast production company.
Around the same time, The Wall Street Journal published another report about the defense secretary that raised eyebrows:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is facing scrutiny over his handling of details of a military strike, brought his wife, a former Fox News producer, to two meetings with foreign military counterparts where sensitive information was discussed, according to multiple people who were present or had knowledge of the discussions.
The Journal’s report, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, added that a Defense secretary “can invite anyone to meetings with visiting counterparts, but attendee lists are usually carefully limited to those who need to be there and attendees are typically expected to possess security clearances given the delicate nature of the discussions.”....
The reporting from the AP and the Journal dovetailed with a Politico report that said while Donald Trump has expressed public support for Hegseth, “behind the scenes, administration insiders are starting to express doubts about the Pentagon chief’s judgment.” CNN had a related piece that said, “Interviews with multiple current and former national security officials this week, including career military and civilian officials, reflect growing concerns about Hegseth’s leadership at the Pentagon.”
Taken individually, the revelations about his brother’s job and his wife’s access are certainly important in their own right. But let’s not overlook the story behind the stories: It appears increasingly obvious that there are some people at the Pentagon who’ve learned some unfortunate things about Hegseth, and they’re suddenly eager to share that information with journalists.
Or put another way, two months into Hegseth’s tenure, he’s generating the kind of chatter that his respected and qualified predecessor didn’t have to worry about at the department he ostensibly leads.
It’s a problem for the Pentagon chief that there’s evidence of his incompetence, abuses and failures, but it’s just as notable a problem that there are DOD insiders who are apparently willing to talk to reporters about his incompetence, abuses and failures.