Self-Important Soldier Boy Is a National Embarrassment

 

Self-Important Soldier Boy Is a National Embarrassment

“Much as we might be sympathetic to people with continuing alcohol problems, they shouldn’t be at the top of our national-security structure… It’s dangerous. The Secretary of Defense is involved in every issue of national security. He’s involved in the use of nuclear weapons. He’s the one who approves sending troops into combat. He approves drone strikes that may involve civilian casualties. Literally life-and-death issues are in the hands of the Secretary of Defense, and entrusting these kinds of issues to someone who might be incapacitated for any reason is a risk we cannot take.” 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D/CT)

“I’ve seen him drunk so many times. I’ve seen him dragged away not a few times but multiple times. To have him at the Pentagon would be scary.” 

Whistleblower in conformation report.

As risky as a recovering alcoholic might be, his subtle use of tattoos, capable of innocent and very toxic dangerous interpretation, put the bigger risk of Pete Hegseth, cub Fox “news” host, front and center. Aside from patriotic and religious themes, those in the ultra-rightwing Christian nationalist movement understand the intended meme intent of several of those tattooed images. “One theory claims that one of Hegseth's tattoos, a stylized American flag with its bottom stripe replaced by an AR-15 assault rifle, is secretly a neo-Nazi tattoo. This theory claims that the stars in the American flag are laid out in a pattern that creates the number ‘88.’ That number is used by neo-Nazis to represent ‘Heil Hitler,’ because the eighth letter of the alphabet is ‘H.’ Since this theory is solely based on an assumption about Hegseth's intent, [Snopes.com fact-checking site] can neither confirm nor disprove it….

“This is not to say that any of these tattoos prove Hegseth is a Christian nationalist. However, the claim surfaced for a reason — Hegseth has at least two tattoos directly referencing the Crusades, an event that many Christian nationalists glorify, and one tattoo that is hard to interpret as anything other than anti-Muslim…

“An internal report on Hegseth's behavior while he was president of the nonprofit organization Concerned Veterans for America claimed he repeatedly chanted ‘Kill All Muslims!’ while at a bar in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, in the early hours of May 29, 2015. (A lawyer for Hegseth called the claim ‘outlandish’ and said it came from a ‘petty and jealous disgruntled former associate.’)…

“In a podcast appearance hosted by former Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan, Hegseth said that during President Joe Biden's 2021 inauguration, he had been removed from the event's security detail because of one of his tattoos. According to the Department of Defense, 12 National Guardsmen were removed from inauguration security as a precaution due to reports of ‘questionable behavior,’ including but not limited to extremism. If Hegseth is to be believed, he was one of those 12.” Jack Izzo, in the December 6th Newsbreak.com. But if you had doubts about Hegseth’s agenda, his proclivity to amp up Trump’s willingness to criticize allies while praising autocrats like Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Victor Orban, was more than evident at his December 6th speech at the Reagan Library in Simi, California, as reported by Paul McLeary in that same issue:

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday launched a full-throated attack on post-Cold War U.S. foreign policy, castigating former presidents and generals by name while declaring the age of American ‘utopian idealism’ over… Hegseth, speaking at the annual Reagan Defense Forum, outlined a new military focus on the Western Hemisphere, demanded allies fend for themselves and took a more conciliatory approach to China’s armed forces… His remarks underscored the new National Security Strategy released late Thursday and previewed the Pentagon’s own upcoming strategy, which will lay out the military's global priorities… ‘Out with idealistic utopianism,’ he said. ‘In with hard-nosed realism.’

“The Defense secretary’s speech revealed an administration moving toward a policy that recognizes zones of influence led by great powers — China in the Pacific, the U.S. in the Western Hemisphere and Europe broadly, although he made only a passing reference to Russia… The U.S. should not be “distracted by democracy building, interventionism, undefined wars, regime change, climate change, woke moralizing and feckless nation-building,” Hegseth said. ‘We will instead put our nation's practical, concrete interests first.’

“The Pentagon chief also used the defense industry-focused forum to more forcefully outline the Trump administration’s strategic refocus closer to home. It comes amid a military campaign in the Caribbean that has sunk more than 20 small boats allegedly carrying drugs and killed around 80 people. The administration has said it is combating ‘narco-terrorists,’ though some lawmakers and experts have decried it as illegal.

“Hegseth also suggested the military would become more involved in patrolling the southern border with Mexico. ‘We'll secure the border in part by organizing training and equipping units specifically for border defense missions, including operations in the land, maritime and air,’ he said… While defense strategies in recent years have focused on deterring China, Hegseth suggested the upcoming one would take a softer approach… ‘President Trump and this administration seek a stable peace, fair trade and respectful relations with China,’ he said. The U.S. will follow a policy of ‘respecting the historic military buildup (China is) undertaking,’ he added, while the Pentagon ‘maintains a clear-eyed appreciation of how rapid, formidable and holistic their military buildup has been.’”

European leaders increasingly believe that the United States has abandoned its role in mediating the Russo-Ukraine war, choosing instead to represent only Putin’s interests. They are preparing for the end of US aid… and worry since their immediate neighborhood is more threatened by Russian aggression, they cannot rely on the United States believing how important it is to Europe to stop Putin in Ukraine, sending a message that just might stop the Russian dictator from dreaming of invading Europe or turning it into another vassal state like Belarus. Hegseth makes that clear.

But the shifting sands of Hegseth’s statements on the “narco-terrorist” attacks, the inconsistency with Admiral Bradley’s own rapidly changing iterations, are added to his misused of an insecure platform to discuss top secret military plans (against Iran and the Houthis) and the general disrespect that most members of the military have for the Secretary… that many GOP Senators, who voted to confirm his cabinet appointment, are openly critical of the inexperienced Hegseth… suggest that a Trump-directed bus is heading towards Pete. Indeed, Hegseth was replaced by Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll in the Trump team meeting with Russian representatives in the attempted settlement of their war with Ukraine. Good riddance, but who is next?

I’m Peter Dekom, and among the clown-car of Trump cabinet appointments, Pete Hegseth appears to be one whose tenure is all but over.