Hegseth Fires His Top Military Planner Whom He Blames for Leaking News on Another Round of Strikes Against Iran

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has abruptly shifted the spotlight back from Asia to the Middle East with the dismissal of the army lieutenant general responsible for plans on the ongoing war against Iran and the rising prospect for another war in Asia.No sooner was Mr. Hegseth back from calling for “peace through strength” in a session with Asian defense chiefs in the Philippines, he fired General Brett Sylvia from his joint staff because the general was judged to have leaked news on planning in the war against Iran.The Atlantic, first to break the news, said that General Sylvia’s “departure presages more upheaval in the Pentagon’s upper echelons as Trump looks to break the stalemate with Iran and weighs renewed combat after Tuesday’s elections.” The general flunked three lie detector tests, possibly when asked about planning for another round of strikes against Iran, the Telegraph reported.The U.S. Central command “has prepared a variety of strike options,” the Atlantic reported, ranging from “a short burst of strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear sites to a longer campaign aimed at pushing Iran’s economy closer to the brink — and Iran’s government to the negotiating table.”Reuters said the right-wing conspiracy theorist and influencer, Laura Loomer, was believed responsible for blaming General Sylvia for leaking information in a post on X in which she raged against the general’s son, Gavin, for his response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk more than a year ago. She was quoted as saying “these people hate us” and “don’t belong near the levers of our National Power.”The dismissal of General Sylvia, former commander of the elite 101st airborne division, was the latest in Mr. Hegseth’s purge of the top ranks of the armed forces in which he has gotten rid of upwards of 20 generals and admirals as well as top civilian officials, including the secretaries of the army and navy.Mr. Hegseth dramatically shifted the focus from Asia even as he was trying to convince Asian defense ministers, meeting in the Philippine city of Cebu, of the need for “a defense cooperation agenda focused on practical collaboration and regional stability.” Japan’s defense minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, at the gathering of military chiefs of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, had China clearly in his sights when he inveighed against “coercion against vulnerable countries.” He warned that security was “deteriorating rapidly,” according to Japan’s Kyodo News, as warplanes flew off the deck of China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning in a flotilla, including destroyers, steaming down the “first island chain” from Japan through Southeast Asia.Mr. Koizumi had a seat at the gathering since ASEAN is now ASEAN “plus three,” including the three northeast Asian nations, China, Japan, and South Korea, but China’s defense minister pointedly skipped the gathering. Neither Mr. Koizumi nor Mr. Hegseth mentioned China by name, but the Associated Press reported that Mr. Koizumi said they had agreed on “Operation Supercharge” for co-production of missiles for F-35 aircraft, now a mainstay of Japan’s air force. Underlining the rising confrontation between Japan and China, Mr. Koizumi announced the deal in words that were far stronger than those used by Mr. Hegseth. After meeting briefly, according to the AP, Mr. Koizumi said they “shared a sense of crisis” and “agreed to strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. alliance with greater speed and intensity than ever before.”The Chinese are making no secret of their rising threat around the region while Mr. Trump considers the timing for another strike against Iran, most likely after the upcoming midterm elections.The Global Times, the English-language newspaper published by the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily, reports the aircraft carrier Liaoning in a “formidable lineup” of warships that “highlights the Chinese navy’s growing capabilities for long-range operations.”The Chinese navy command is quoted as saying the training “complies with relevant international law and practices and is not directed at any specific country or target,” but touched on the nations most concerned by Chinese intrusions. After sailing around the southern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa, it reached the seas off the southern coast of the Philippines and then the Celebes Sea lapping up on Indonesian islands.“If we want to use force, we may easily win,” the Voice of America quoted a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman as saying, “but no, we will not choose force and we love peace.”The Philippine foreign secretary, Maria Theresa Lazaro, summoning the Chinese ambassador, called such comments “provocative and unacceptable.” The verbiage formed the context in which the Philippine defense secretary, Gilberto Teodoro Jr., before he hosted the ASEAN defense ministers, called China a “troublemaker.”

Hegseth Fires His Top Military Planner Whom He Blames for Leaking News on Another Round of Strikes Against Iran

Hegseth Fires His Top Military Planner Whom He Blames for Leaking News on Another Round of Strikes Against Iran

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