US defense head is eager to frame operation as a success – and slam journalists for not portraying it in a positive light

Pete Hegseth on Friday again claimed the US military campaign against Iran has been an unprecedented success, using a Pentagon press conference to accuse journalists of downplaying Washington’s supposed gains on the battlefield.

Speaking alongside the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, the US defense secretary claimed Iran had been left without a functioning air force, navy or missile defense network after 13 days of strikes, and said the combined US-Israeli air campaign had hit more than 15,000 targets since the war began.

“The United States is decimating the radical Iranian regime’s military in a way the world has never seen before,” Hegseth told reporters.

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[–] 218 points 8 months ago (4 children)

Has Iran even said thank you?

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  • [–] 49 points 8 months ago (3 children)
  • [–] 176 points 8 months ago (2 children)
  • [–] 128 points 8 months ago (5 children)

    "Kiff come hold up the flag, and wavy it a little for God's sake"

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  • [–] 21 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    I thought it was Putin who sends wave after wave until the kill limit is reached.

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  • [–] 88 points 8 months ago (3 children)

    Singling out CNN by name, Hegseth said: “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”

    This fuckin guy just comes right out and says it...

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  • [–] 77 points 8 months ago (3 children)

    People don't like murder. Suck it up and deal with it, Pete.

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  • [+] 22 points 8 months ago (3 children)
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    [–] 52 points 8 months ago

    Fucking piece of shit, limp dicked, drunk Nazi traitor upset we don't support his fucking war crimes for Jesus?

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  • [–] 46 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    I liked it better when I didn't know the names of various American ministers

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  • [–] 41 points 8 months ago* (8 children)

    (my bold)

    “The United States is decimating the radical Iranian regime’s military in a way the world has never seen before,” Hegseth told reporters.

    said the ignoramus.

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  • [–] 7 points 8 months ago (3 children)

    I hate how this administration has ruined certain phrases/sayings/colloquialisms for me. Like "has never seen before", "unprecendented", "like no one's ever seen", "quid pro quo", "rule of law", "thank you for your attention to this matter", etc.

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  • [–] 7 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    Given that they've only been in power since 1979 and only had a few comparable conflicts, that's probably true.

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    [–] 39 points 8 months ago (3 children)

    It's bad enough they have to do a fascism, worse that it's a stupid fascism. But do they have to fucking whine about it constantly too? God damn

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  • [–] 35 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    Well, yes. The nature of fascism is exactly to whine about things exactly like this.

    This behavior is a foundational element of the fascist cult of the leader, where the state head is presented as an infallible, almost superhuman figure whose every action is a historic triumph. Because the leader cannot fail, any reality that doesn't align with their self-proclaimed brilliance is framed as a failure of the media or the public to be sufficiently "grateful" or "loyal." Mussolini was a master of this, frequently attacking journalists as shirkers or cowards for not practicing militant journalism and failing to recognize the supposed civilizing success of his brutal campaigns. To a fascist, a lack of active, ecstatic praise from the press isn't just a difference of opinion; it is viewed as a form of national betrayal and a "stab in the back" by internal enemies.

    By constantly complaining about not getting enough credit, these leaders deliberately cultivate a siege mentality among their followers. Hitler used this tactic to delegitimize any information source he didn't control, asserting that "intellectuals" and the media were too timid or corrupt to champion his military genius. This framing transforms the leader into a tireless, misunderstood martyr who is being let down by a cynical elite. It is a calculated propaganda move designed to turn a supporter’s pride into a protective, weaponized anger against the "ungrateful" press, ensuring that the only acceptable narrative is one of constant, uncritical victory.

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  • [–] 39 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    Reminds me of those German radio messages that always reported glorious victories, but every day the victory was a bit closer to Berlin.

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  • [–] 37 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    This dude was literally a talking head on Fox News.

    There's no way there isn't hours of footage of him being negative about literally everything Obama and Biden did.

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  • [–] 31 points 8 months ago*

    Fuck you, Pete. Fuck you, you piece of shit. Fuck you, you child-murderer.

    You are the absolute, most bottom, horrible, disgusting, sub-human, terrible monster.

    Hell is too good for you.

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  • [–] 31 points 8 months ago (3 children)

    "US Defence head..."
    But they changed it to the Department of War, so that should read "US War head..."

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  • [–] 30 points 8 months ago (4 children)

    This country is run by 12 year olds. Examine how they act, how they talk, who they raped at Epstein Island, etc..

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  • [–] 5 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    Admittedly, Marcio Rubio is a bit more mature than the rest of them. He will on occasion act like he is 12,5

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago*

    I mean, technically, if you're going to call them 12 year olds, it would mean for some of them that some of the crimes they've done would not be statutory rape… just sayin'… maybe let's not go there.

    But I'm just making a gallows-humour joke. Those fucking child rapists do act like 12 year olds. Or really, more like toddlers in the case of Trump (shits himself, is all "nuh uh" to everything, no object permanence, can barely speak coherently…) heh

    edit: ugh. Is it statutory rape when two preteens are sexually active? I realized I don't actually know. I don't fucking care because two actual kids messing around, whatever, but in light of the stupid joke I was making as a coping technique dealing with this fucking fascism...... I don't care about the reality, those sick people need guillotines.

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  • [–] 24 points 8 months ago (15 children)

    What a nakedly thin skinned and insecure little man.

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  • [–] 11 points 8 months ago (14 children)

    'America has no culture'

    Actually, its being thin skinned pathetic people.

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  • [–] 4 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    Please don't compare us to him

    And yes I see the irony

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  • [–] 0 points 8 months ago (10 children)

    For about the millionth time, America's culture is MULTICULTURALISM, okay?

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago (9 children)

    Not anymore with ICE still free to do what it wants.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (8 children)

    So your instinct is to let them win?

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (7 children)

    I don't know how you come up with that conclusion.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (6 children)

    Because the only way ICE being free to do what they want could destroy multiculturalism in the U.S. is if we all just roll over and stop resisting. The fight is just beginning and you're speaking from a defeated position.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (5 children)

    Nope, the reason ICE exists is BECAUSE many Americans are resisting against multiculturalism. They are proof that multiculturalism is no longer part of US culture. You guys can disprove that by actually abolishing ICE. Until then, you can't convince me that multiculturalism is still part of your culture while a big portion of your people voted against it.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (4 children)

    Oh, I just realized you have no idea what you're talking about. That makes sense now

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  • [–] 0 points 7 months ago (3 children)

    That's because you refuse to listen to anything that doesn't fit your worldview. Very American of you.

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  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago (2 children)

    Nono, you just lack the necessary on-the-ground experience to have any idea of what you're talking about. It's not your fault, but your perception of the U.S. and it's people is not in any way accurate. Most Americans didn't vote for this, and most likely, most Americans who voted didn't vote for this, despite what the numbers tell you. And that's without factoring SpaceX/Starlink fuckery.

    Just look at what's been happening where I live in Minnesota. That's one place that is being highly publicized, but that level of resistance is happening nationwide, all the time. Your view is simply myopic.

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  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago (1 child)

    You think I'm talking only about the Trump administration exclusively? ICE has been a thing since the Obama days, and the mistreatment of illegal immigrants happen even under a Democrat administration, even if they are much less severe.

    I'm sorry to say this, but the current situation is just the result of decades of American resistance against multiculturalism, which no doubt, is mostly pushed by right-wing ideologies, but they certainly weren't getting enough pushback from the Democrats, either.

    If as you say that on-the-ground, multiculturalism is still embraced in America by the majority, your political class certainly does not reflect that. In that case, you should probably focus on fixing the fact that your politics do not reflect the opinions of the majority of Americans before trying to fix anything else.

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  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago

    ICE has been a thing since the Bush era, actually. It was a part of the consolidation of several different agencies under one department, the Department of Homeland Security, back in 2002. Their justification at the time was to prevent terrorism, as this was part of a series of legislation designed to strip rights away from people in the U.S., the Patriot Act being the other big one that you've probably heard of.

    The thing that you're sorry to say isn't news to anybody here. The Republicans a Democrats are two different wings of the same broken system, and that's something most people are actually aware of. It's not just that they weren't getting enough push back from Democrats, it's that the Democrats were actively working in their favor. You see, here in the U.S., the only thing that actually matters to money. Can it be profitable or does it hurt profits. This is the goal of both parties.

    And yeah, anybody who has the slightest idea of how the political system here would know that the political class does not reflect the majority of Americans. Our system is literally intentionally designed that way. Original only land owning white men could even vote. And we have been trying to fix that. For a VERY long time.

    But progress is slower than regression, and the richest and most powerful people on the planet have been actively propagandizing the populace for well over a century.

    So resistance doesn't look like marching en masse to Washington and staging a violent revolution, because what would be the point of that? To die?

    No, resistance is about strapping in for the long haul. Building up network of people working in conjunction with each other to feed each other, house each other, take care of one another. Bit by bit building a new system in the shell of the old one, until those holding the power no longer have any leverage. And then you strike. That's what's happening right now and it might not look like glorious revolution, but it IS working and we're not feeling ourselves into a meat grinder to fight some kind of futile asymmetrical war.

    Which is a lot of stuff to read that you probably won't, but that's what I mean when I say "you have no idea what you're talking about". Please go keyboard warrior somebody else's national crisis, you're not helping.

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  • [–] 22 points 8 months ago

    This guy is worse than a fucking Family Guy parody of an over the top limp dick douchebag.

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  • [–] 22 points 8 months ago

    "How dare you peasants not praise me when we bombed a school then bombed it again to make sure! We fuck kids one way or another!"

    That's what that shitiot sounds like.

    Fuck off Kegsbreath, you worthless pedo-protector.

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  • [–] 21 points 8 months ago

    This dumb motherfucker thinks he invented carpet bombing because everyone else figured out that it doesn't work for shit.

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  • [–] 21 points 8 months ago (5 children)

    Holy fuck that press conference was the cribgiest thing I've ever seen.

    This guy's brain is broken.

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  • [–] 8 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    I tried to listen to it but the doublethink in his narrative is too distracting. What a monumental loser.

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  • [–] 18 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    Billionaires are always about the truth! Buy up the media to spread billionaire news not what is actually happening.

    “But Hegseth couldn’t help himself. He had to go further. “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network the better,” he added. In those 10 words, the Defence Secretary said the quiet part out loud.”

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/with-10-damning-words-pete-hegseth-says-the-quiet-part-out-loud-20260314-p5oafr.html

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  • [–] 17 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    I was thinking about this on the drive home and needed to log in to actually share this bit of craziness.

    One of the excuses that they're using for bombing these school kids is to say that their intel on the area was about ten years out-of-date. Which is funny, because ten years ago was Trump’s first term, and a massive data breach happened around that time that cost U.S. intelligence agencies a huge number of agents.

    So, no matter how you slice it, this is on the Trump administration for messing up things he’s too stupid to understand. It takes time to build up assets who can provide information on any given area. It’s possible that there was a school there specifically because they knew the location was compromised.

    And even if you want to handwave that data breach as not Trump’s fault, (ignoring the fact that he starting this war). He cut more intelligence jobs when he got into office last year. Who knows what USAID was doing, Who knows what paper projects he cut that had aid in the area or fronts for CIA opperations. His military didn't have current data on the region becuase everything he has done has fucked up opperations for his military.

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  • [–] 3 points 8 months ago

    Seriously. These fuckers are complicit. How did we have the intelligence of where the Iranian leadership was but not that the school and clinic next to it were located... like why and how? There is no excuse. Tulsi Gabbard.. our Intelligence Secretary needs to be fired now.

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  • [–] 17 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    Whiskeyleaks over here is completely and utterly disconnected from reality.

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  • [–] 4 points 8 months ago

    Whiskeyleaks

    The only good thing about the overwhelming amount of absolute unprecedented shit going on is that there IS so much that I constantly forget these things and so I get to chuckle again when someone references one. Or shake my head sadly. But in this case, chuckle.

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  • [–] 17 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    and said the combined US-Israeli air campaign had hit more than 15,000 targets since the war began.

    How many of those targets were schools, hospitals, cultural heritage sites, bazaars, cafes, and/or residential districts?

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  • [–] 17 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    Yeah, how about we all be a little more positive about the great war he started. Enjoy it a little bit, goddamn!

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  • [–] 5 points 8 months ago

    Right? How ungrateful we are acting, my oh my. We really should be quite ashamed of ourselves shouldn’t we? F my A! Are you kidding me? If he gaslit any harder, his slimy hair combined with his permanent BAC would probably ignite a chemical fire.

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  • [–] 34 points 8 months ago (3 children)

    A success at ...what? No goal was ever provided. He caused a lot of damage, killed a lot of people. Iranian conservative religious government (as well as USA's) is still in power. Iranian nuclear capability (so far, none) hasn't changed.

    And a lot of us are still demanding release of ALL unredacted Trump-Epstein Files.

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  • [–] 14 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    Success at distracting from the Epstein files

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  • [–] 15 points 8 months ago

    Pete Hegseth attacks media for telling the truth.

    FIFY

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  • [–] 14 points 8 months ago

    Cause we're strong enough, we're winnest enough and goshdarn it people should fear me!

    Fucking pathetic Pete. You're just fucking pathetic.

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  • [–] 26 points 8 months ago
    [–] 34 points 8 months ago (3 children)
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