Top Pentagon Honcho Fired Amid Leaked Probe

WASHINGTON—In what officials are calling a shocking departure from decades of tradition, the Pentagon announced Thursday that a high-ranking general was removed from his post for allegedly leaking national security secrets rather than simply failing to win a war on schedule.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth canned Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, the military’s top strategic planner, following an internal review. According to sources familiar with the investigation, Sylvia reportedly failed three polygraph examinations regarding unauthorized disclosures to reporters outside the building, a blunder that raises serious questions about whether modern general officers even know how to use an encrypted messaging app or how to beat a lie detector.

"A spokesperson for the Joint Staff said 'the Chairman, the Joint Staff, and the Joint Force extend our deepest gratitude to Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia and his family for their 32 years of distinguished service to our nation' and they 'wish him and his family the best.'"

Critics of the execution of a sudden career pivot to unemployment immediately warned that the removal could destabilize the nation's military posture, pointing out that removing a bureaucratic planner during a tense standoff with Iran is akin to firing the guy who orders the third-tier subcommittees for the coffee budget. 

However, defense officials pushed back on the narrative, noting that operational planning is handled elsewhere and that the general's primary contribution to the war effort appeared to be ensuring that major media outlets received draft memos ahead of schedule.

According to insider accounts, the friction at the Department of Defense reached a boiling point after Sylvia failed to see eye to eye with civilian policy leadership. Observers noted that rather than accepting civilian oversight, the general allegedly resorted to the time-honored Washington ritual of whispering policy disagreements to reporters over obscenely expensive lattes.

Defense insiders indicated that the investigation into the leaks has been referred for further review, setting a dangerous precedent where senior leadership might actually be held accountable for security violations previously reserved for low-ranking specialists.

"The graveyard is full of indispensable men," noted one official, adding that the Pentagon would somehow survive the loss of another career officer whose path to the top featured enough influential patronage to make a medieval monarch blush.

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President Trump makes way for the execution of Ft. Hood shooter via Army firing squad

Nearly seventeen years after the massacre at Fort Hood, the institutional hesitancy that long shielded a self-proclaimed jihadist from final reckoning has broken. 

On Monday, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed that the administration has authorized the sentence handed down by a court-martial over a decade ago. "Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has recommended and President Donald J. Trump has approved death by U.S. Army firing squad for convicted terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan, the jihadist who opened fire on unarmed American soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009," Parnell stated. "He killed 13 people and wounded 32 others while shouting 'Allahu Akbar' during the attack." That's the jihadist's claim that Allah is greater [than our God].

The atrocity itself remains one of the most chilling acts of ideological violence on American soil. 

On November 5, 2009, Hasan, then a U.S. Army officer, attended noon prayers at a local mosque before driving to a soldier readiness processing facility. Knowing the building would be filled with unarmed servicemen and women preparing for deployment, he opened fire into what he calculated to be "the greatest density of soldiers." His intention was neither ambiguous nor impulsive. 

As the scumbag later remarked to a sanity board evaluation, "I shot to kill." He was proud doing Allah's work since Allah ain't got no guns.

When law enforcement officers finally incapacitated him after an exchange of gunfire, Hasan was hospitalized and subsequently evaluated, evidently by psychiatrists unfamiliar with the Koran. 

The psychiatric assessment revealed no evidence of depression, psychosis, or cognitive impairment; his actions were guided entirely by deliberate conviction. 

During his trial, the prosecution laid bare the stark human cost of that zealotry. Lead prosecutor Col. Michael Mulligan concluded the government's case following profound testimony from victims' families, including Joleen Cahill, whose husband, retired Chief Warrant Officer Michael Cahill, lost his life attempting to disarm the gunman. She recounted the agonizing aftermath endured by her family in the years following the attack.

Despite his conviction and capital sentence, the military justice system imposed an exhaustive sequence of automatic reviews. The case proceeded through the U.S. Army Criminal Court of Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. When Hasan's legal team ultimately petitioned the Supreme Court citing procedural objections, the nation's highest court declined to hear the appeal, exhausting his legal remedies.

If hopefully carried out, Hasan's execution will mark the first time since 1961 that a U.S. president has successfully authorized a military death penalty, the most severe penalty under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The last military execution occurred on April 13, 1961, when Pvt. John Bennett was hanged for the attempted murder of an eleven-year-old girl in Austria. 

A subsequent effort by President George W. Bush to approve a military execution was halted by federal courts in 2008.

With the legal appeals concluded, the authority to determine the exact time and location of the firing squad now rests with the Army secretary. As Parnell noted in his announcement, "Judgment day for Hasan has finally come."

May all his virgins be syphilitic goats.

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Brandon Newsom out of a job with Navy after bashing Trump

Brandon Newsom, the former head (or director) of business operations in the Office of the Secretary of the Navy at the Pentagon, is no longer employed by the Department of the Navy. He didn't so much as quit as he needed to leave under the circumstances, following the release of undercover hidden-camera footage in which he criticized President Donald Trump and discussed plans to reverse administration policies.

The footage was recorded by conservative activist James O’Keefe and published online on July 22, 2026. 

In the video, Newsom (who described overseeing corporate operations such as HR, IT, and security) referred to Trump as a “textbook narcissist.” He called the ongoing war with Iran “completely stupid” and “driven by one man’s ego,” as if his plan didn't involve his own high-level ego. 

He said he hoped to “stay and stick it out” at the Pentagon “so that way, when the time comes, I can undo whatever’s been done” by the Trump administration. Kind of egotistical if you ask me. 

Specific policies he mentioned included religious/prayer services at the Pentagon (objecting to “one specific” service) and changes to employee “schedule policy” that he said stripped protections.

Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao placed Newsom on administrative leave “effective immediately” after the video emerged, stating that the Department of the Navy “takes the conduct shown in this video extremely seriously” and that such statements and apparent intent to undermine policies set by elected leaders were “inappropriate and incompatible with the standards expected of Department personnel.” 

On or around July 26, 2026, Cao confirmed: “The individual is no longer employed by the Department of the Navy.” It is unclear from reports whether Newsom resigned or was terminated; the Pentagon referred questions to the Navy.

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.  

News outlets have noted the context of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s efforts under the Trump administration to reverse what it describes as “woke” policies (including DEI programs) in the military, along with other personnel and cultural changes at the Pentagon. 

Some reports indicate O’Keefe presented the encounter as occurring during a “gay date,” with O’Keefe in disguise. Newsweek and other outlets have stated they have not independently verified the recording.

This is the dominant recent news involving the name Brandon Newsom as of late July 2026. (Note: A different individual, a former Holmes County, Florida, commissioner also named Brandon Newsom/Brandon Brown Newsom, faced felony charges related to bail bond activities in 2025, was suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis, and has been linked to local political activity, but that is separate and older.)

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Civilization Is Once Again Asked Whether Aggression Carries Consequences

Two American service members were killed Saturday in an Iranian strike on Jordan, according to U.S. Central Command. A third American remains missing. It is a grim reminder that the Iranian regime continues to conduct itself as it has for decades, treating violence not as a last resort but as a preferred instrument of statecraft.

These are the first confirmed American combat fatalities resulting from Iran's attacks on Jordan this week. Four additional U.S. troops were evacuated to Jordanian hospitals for treatment and have since been released. CENTCOM stated that the names of the fallen will not be released until 24 hours after their families have been notified.

The attacks extend well beyond Jordan. In recent days, Iran has struck America's partners throughout the region. Kuwait reported that an Iranian attack hit a power generation and water desalination facility, igniting a fire and forcing critical infrastructure offline. A child in Qatar was injured by shrapnel. Bahrain also came under attack. This is not the behavior of a nation seeking stability. It is the behavior of a revolutionary regime that has spent decades exporting instability wherever it can.

The United States has responded by intensifying strikes against Iranian military targets, particularly around Bandar Abbas, the regime's principal strategic port on the Strait of Hormuz. The city is not merely a commercial center. It houses Iran's naval headquarters and serves as a vital hub for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the regime's military operations.

CENTCOM also confirmed the destruction of the surveillance tower at Chah Bahar Shahid Kalantari Port on July 16, an installation with clear operational significance.

"The destruction of the tower directly degrades IRGC’s ability to coordinate attacks on innocent civilian crew members," CENTCOM said.

The statement reflects a simple military reality. Modern conflicts are won not only by destroying weapons but by dismantling the command structures that direct them. Surveillance and communications infrastructure are force multipliers. Removing them limits an adversary's ability to wage war.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth reinforced that message by sharing images of American troops and declaring that "Iran does not control the SoH," referring to the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, the consequences of the conflict are increasingly being felt inside Iran itself. Reports indicate that the regime's Energy Ministry has instructed residents to reduce electricity consumption during peak hours after attacks on energy facilities disrupted the power grid across southern provinces. As so often happens under authoritarian governments, ordinary citizens are left to bear the costs of decisions made by leaders who remain insulated from the suffering they create.

The latest escalation follows Tehran's announcement that it would no longer honor its interim peace agreement with the United States. That decision has brought predictable consequences. History offers few examples of regimes abandoning diplomatic commitments while simultaneously escalating military aggression without inviting a forceful response.

President Trump summarized the strategic dilemma in stark terms during a July 14 interview.

"The only way you can negotiate with these people is through strength," Trump said. "And the only strength is military strength."

Whether one agrees entirely with that formulation or not, recent events have reinforced an uncomfortable truth. Peace cannot be sustained by wishful thinking alone. It requires the credible willingness to confront those who believe violence carries no meaningful cost.

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Sunny Hostin complains about Lindsey Graham's sister taking his position, but you will not believe why

The View remains the place where daytime television goes to remind everyone that ignorance and self-righteousness make a perfect pair. This time the panel turned its mighty intellect to the news that South Carolina had appointed Darline Graham, sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, to finish out his term. 

Sunny Hostin, whose given name is evidently an oxymoron, found the whole arrangement deeply offensive to the cause of womanhood. The ladies then proceeded to demonstrate, once again, that they have no idea what the words they throw around actually mean.

Here is how the discussion unfolded:

SUNNY HOSTIN: I don't love it. I don't love it. You know, she'll be the first woman to be a U.S. senator in South Carolina in the history of the state. And I think that that's just fundamentally wrong that South Carolina just couldn't elect a woman and this is the only way that it was done.I think the experience does matter. And while she is a certified optician and while she has done great work in that field, I don't think that she should be representing the people of South Carolina in the U.S. Senate. I just don't. [Sunny would rather a Democrat woman be the first woman senator in the state.]

JOY BEHAR: Is this the very definition of a DEI? [Actually, it isn't. It might be considered nepotism, but D.E.I. is a horse of a different color, and the ladies of "The View" should be familiar with horses.]

SUNNY HOSTIN: Correct! Correct! It's everything that the Republican Party stands against! Everything! Everything! It's DEI. Nepotism. All these things thrown in together. And, you know, at this very same time Pete Hegseth blocked more promotions for women in particular for women of color to become admirals. And so this is happening. I feel like our government is fundamentally broken and I just disagree. I disagree with this. [And Darline is a Republican.]

BEHAR: I agree with you. It's not like taking over your mother's job at McDonald's.

HOSTIN: Yeah, it's not.

BEHAR: You're running

HOSTIN: It's the U.S. Senate.BEHAR: You're in government. You have to know what you're doing.

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: You guys are putting too much stock in who's currently in Congress.

WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Yeah, you got a point. 

Hostin also invoked the solemn testimony of Steve Schmidt to establish that Lindsey Graham had been a bad man all along. On "The View" this counts as serious evidence. 

The panel nodded along as though Schmidt were some neutral historian rather than the usual angry Never-Trumper whose opinions happen to match the room. What the ladies managed to miss, as they always do, is that none of this qualifies as DEI, as I mentioned above. 

DEI is the practice of handing out positions according to race and sex checkboxes while pretending merit is still in the room. Filling a vacant Senate seat with a family member is simply how representative government has worked for most of its history. Brothers, sons, widows, and sisters have stepped in when needed. The republic did not collapse the first dozen times it happened and it is unlikely to collapse now.

The real offense, apparently, is that South Carolina chose continuity over the approved method of holding a special election just so a woman could be elected the approved way. That this woman happens to be the sister of the man who held the seat is treated as some novel scandal rather than the ordinary business of politics. 

The panel then used a Strawman argument and compared the situation to blocking promotions in the military, as though one has anything to do with the other. The geniuses concluded that the government itself is broken [whatever that actually means] because Republicans refuse to play the identity game on command.

It was the usual performance: loud, empty, and entirely untroubled by either history or logic. The ladies of "The View" once again proved that when you start with the conclusion that everything conservatives do is wicked, the facts can be arranged to fit afterward. 

No actual thinking is required and this is what they excel in.

What do you think? I know it's controversial, but it's only temporary if Ms. Graham doesn't win in November's midterm elections.

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President Trump warns that the US is "very close" to making Iran's infrastructure a smoking crater

FRISCO, TX — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the United States is now “very close” to replacing Iran’s infrastructure with a large smoking crater after the regime allegedly spent months “tap, tap, tapping” its way through negotiations like a telemarketer trying to extend your car warranty. Is anyone really surprised?

“I may keep going,” Trump told Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst. “They had a chance to sign a deal and survive.”

According to administration officials, Iran reportedly believed it could stall talks indefinitely by recycling the same strategy it used on previous American presidents: smile politely, drag things out for years, collect pallets of cash, and wait for CNN and MS Now to explain why America is the real aggressor and Trump is a bad man.

Unfortunately for Tehran, they are no longer negotiating with the foreign policy genius who gave them the JCPOA and a free pass to chant “Death to America” between uranium enrichment sessions.

“We hit them hard yesterday, and we're going to hit them again hard today,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “And we'll see what happens with the deal. We were really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along. They keep playing us for suckers because you know what? They dealt with some very stupid Presidents.”

I can't imagine who he is referring to.  

Trump later clarified that by “very stupid Presidents,” he was referring to any commander in chief who thought the Iranian regime could be bribed into becoming Sweden.

“It was just tap, tap, tap,” Trump said. “I don't know what they are doing.”

Sources close to the administration confirmed Iran’s negotiating strategy largely consisted of pretending to compromise while enriching uranium and funding every terrorist organization west of the moon.

Trump also blasted Barack Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran, calling it “the worst deal.”

“We want a deal that is meaningful, a deal that works. We don't want a Barack Hussein Obama deal, JCPOA, the worst deal,” Trump said, making sure we remember Obama's Islamic-sounding name. “That was a path to a nuclear weapon.”

Political analysts say Democrats were deeply troubled by Trump’s comments because they prefer their hostile Islamist regimes “stable, respected, and flush with American cash.”

Trump warned that a nuclear Iran would spell disaster for the region.

“If they had a nuclear weapon, there would be no Israel, there would be no Middle East, and they would have absolutely shot at us,” Trump continued.

Meanwhile, Trump casually revealed that the U.S. military has apparently been vaporizing Iran’s oil operations while most corporate media outlets remained busy fact-checking whether Trump used an improper verb tense during a rally speech.

“Did you know we've been taking out millions of barrels of oil?” Trump asked. “Nobody knows it. You know who doesn't know about it? Iran. Until right now. We took out, the other night, 22 ships.”

Pentagon officials later confirmed the administration had also launched a secret mission protecting ships through the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in over 100 million barrels of oil reaching global markets safely.

“This wildly successful effort is because the UNITED STATES of AMERICA CONTROLS the Strait of Hormuz — NOT Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Their military is defeated, and their economy is lost. It’s over for Iran!”

The Communist News Network [CNN] reportedly responded to the post by immediately assembling a panel of former Obama officials to explain why controlling a strategic global oil route is actually problematic for democracy.

The conflict escalated after CENTCOM launched “self-defense” strikes against Iranian military targets following the downing of a U.S. Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump described the rescue of the helicopter pilots as “a miracle,” explaining that an Iranian drone became lodged in the aircraft during the attack.

“It was on fire, it was hot,” Trump said, sounding almost as if he was feeling the heat.

Military experts confirmed this still remains significantly less uncomfortable than sitting through a State Department briefing under the Biden administration.

Iranian officials responded to Trump’s comments by vowing they would “respond to threats accordingly,” which analysts translated loosely as “angrily issuing statements before another military facility explodes mysteriously overnight.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also warned Iran against escalating the conflict further.

“President Trump is seeking a deal,” Hegseth said. “But not just a deal, a great deal on behalf of the American people so that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.”

At press time, European leaders were reportedly urging “restraint” while quietly hoping the United States continues doing all the work.

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Second in Command ISIS Scumcrumpet Got His Goats

President Donald Trump announces the top ISIS terrorist member responsible for killing 13 American troops during the Afghanistan withdrawal is in U.S. custody? Wait, no. Scratch that. The latest update is even better: the savage is dead and has gone to meet his farm animals.

The President announced late Friday that U.S. and Nigerian forces carried out an operation that killed a global ISIS leader and first class scumcrumpet. He identified the terrorist as Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, whom he described as ISIS’s second-in-command globally.

"Tonight, at my direction, brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

"Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing," Trump continued. "He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans."

Trump also thanked the Nigerian government for its cooperation in the mission."With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished," he added.

In a Saturday morning X post, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed U.S. forces, in coordination with the Armed Forces of Nigeria, killed al-Minuki and other ISIS leaders and provided more details about al-Minuki's role within ISIS.

"Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was the senior ISIS General Directorate of Provinces Emir — the number two for ISIS globally — responsible for overseeing the planning of attacks, directing hostage-taking and managing financial operations," Hegseth wrote. "The removal of him and other ISIS personnel makes Americans safer by further degrading ISIS’s ability to plan and carry out attacks that threaten the U.S. homeland, American citizens, and innocent civilians."

"Operations like last night’s demonstrate the exceptional lethality, patience and skill of U.S. forces, amplified alongside willing and capable partners, to address shared threats," Hegseth wrote. "This should serve as a reminder that we will hunt down those who wish to harm Americans or innocent Christians, wherever they are."

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth leaves a state banquet hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People on May 14, 2026, in Beijing, China. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Hegseth said U.S. Africa Command carried out the "precise operation to remove this terrorist" at Trump's direction and in conjunction with Nigeria's president.

The secretary reiterated how Trump in November "declared to the world that we will help protect Christians in Nigeria and instructed the Department of War to prepare for action.""So, for months, we hunted this top ISIS leader in Nigeria who was killing Christians, and we killed him — and his entire posse," Hegseth wrote.

The announcement comes after U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said it carried out multiple strikes against more than 30 ISIS targets in Syria in February as part of a joint military effort to "sustain relentless military pressure on remnants from the terrorist network."

CENTCOM said U.S. forces struck ISIS infrastructure and weapons-storage targets using fixed-wing, rotary-wing and unmanned aircraft.

The U.S. military carried out ten strikes against more than 30 ISIS targets in Syria following a December ambush that killed U.S. troops. (CENTCOM)

Trump told reporters on Jan. 27 that he had a "great conversation" with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

"All of the things having to do with Syria in that area are working out very, very well," he said at the time. "So, we are very happy about it."

CENTCOM announced in February that more than 50 ISIS terrorists had been killed or captured and more than 100 ISIS infrastructure targets struck during two months of targeted operations in Syria.

The U.S. launched Operation Hawkeye Strike in response to an ISIS ambush that killed two U.S. service members and an American interpreter Dec. 13, 2025, in Palmyra, Syria.

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Pete Hegseth Drops the Hammer on Biden’s Vaccine Purge Disaste

Troops who got the boot over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate are about to catch a serious break, and it’s coming straight from War Secretary Pete Hegseth. Yes, even for the guys who have zero interest in putting the uniform back on.

Hegseth made the announcement in a video on X Friday afternoon, promising to fix the financial hits and restore benefits that were stripped away because of those garbage “general” discharges.

“I’m directing the Under Secretary of War for Personnel and Readiness to establish a Department of War COVID-19 reinstatement and Reconciliation Task Force,” Hegseth explained, noting that their first move would be to assist anyone who wanted to return to military service to do so. “The services have them right now. We’re establishing one at our level to oversee the entire thing. The task force’s goal is to bring back into service all those who desire to continue to serve our country in uniform.”

But Hegseth wasn’t stopping there. He went on to say that changes were also coming for those who were discharged for refusing the COVID vaccine mandate under former President Joe Biden and opted not to put the uniform back on. Those who were denied education benefits due to a “general” discharge, Hegseth vowed, would have them restored.

“Even if you do not intend to return to service, the War Department will provide a path for resolution of unearned bonuses, upgrades to discharge characterizations that will unlock your well-deserved benefits, and removal of adverse documents from service files,” he said. “Further, I have directed a review of policies and decision-making to ensure that we do not go down this path again. You raised your right hand and sworn ill to serve and protect the Constitution and our nation.”

“You were mistreated by the Biden Pentagon, and we are fixing that injustice,” Hegseth concluded.

About damn time.

Between August 2021 and early 2023, roughly 8,700 service members were railroaded out of the military thanks to Biden’s vaccine obsession. Over a third of them — around 3,000 — got slapped with “general” discharges instead of the honorable ones they’d earned. On top of that, plenty lost enlistment bonuses and pay because they were forced out before their contracts were up.

A “general” discharge usually means you can still get some VA disability and health care, but the post-9/11 G.I. Bill education benefits? Often locked out. Classic bureaucratic screw job.

As of March 2026, the Air Force had already upgraded discharges for about 600 of these troops. The Marine Corps and Navy led the pack in sheer numbers of vaccine mandate separations, because of course they did.

Hegseth and the new team are finally treating these patriots like the Americans who raised their right hands to defend the Constitution — not like lab rats for Biden’s failed authoritarian experiment. It’s a long-overdue correction to one of the most disgraceful chapters in recent Pentagon history.

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Khamenei Jr. Reportedly 'Mentally Sharp' Despite Being Turned Into Human Swiss Cheese By U.S. Airstrikes

TEHRAN -- Iran's latest Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is severely disfigured after sustaining leg and face injuries during joint U.S.-Israel airstrikes on Tehran in February, Reuters reported Saturday.

It's bad enough that he might be killed in the near future, but worse for him, he has reportedly been disfigured and is no longer considered 'dating material' at any gay goat milk bar.

In a stunning display of medical miracles and regime resilience, Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is said to be recovering nicely after the February 28 airstrikes that inconveniently vaporized his father, the late Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei. Sources confirm he has not been seen in public since the unfortunate incident, presumably because hospital gowns clash with his father's signature black turban.

Despite sustaining injuries that would make most mortals reconsider their life choices, Khamenei is allegedly "mentally sharp," according to a breathless Reuters report citing a crack team of three anonymous sources from deep within his inner circle, probably the same guys who swore the last guy was totally fine too.

The plucky new allegedly gay supreme leader has even been coordinating with the Iranian delegation in Pakistan for delicate peace talks with a U.S. team led by Vice President JD Vance. 

Nothing says "I'm in charge" like Zooming in from a burn unit while your entire military high command decorates the Persian landscape.

The Reuters dispatch neatly backs up an earlier observation from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who on March 13 bluntly informed reporters that Khamenei was "likely disfigured."

Hegseth doubled down Thursday during a press conference celebrating the U.S. military's recent accomplishments in Iran.

"Their top leadership was systematically eliminated," Hegseth said. "Their previous Iranian supreme leader dead, the supreme national security council secretary dead, the supreme leader office advisor dead, the supreme leader military office chief dead, the defense minister no longer with us, the IRGC commander dead, the armed forces general staff commander dead, the intelligence minister dead, the IRGC navy commander no longer here, the IRGC Intel chief dead.

"I skipped over a bunch, and I could go on and on and on, to include the new so-called new supreme leader, wounded and disfigured. This new regime was out of options and out of time, so they cut a deal."

At press time, anonymous sources close to the matter described Khamenei's condition as "sharp as a tack... if the tack had been run over by several F-35s," and had that little pointy thing broken off.

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Search for missing pilot of downed F-15E jet now in second day

The ejector seat

The desperate search for the missing American pilot of an F-15E that was shot down over Iran stretched into the second day after his co-pilot was rescued in a daring search and rescue mission that saw other US aircraft targeted.

Crews were racing against time to find the second pilot of the Strike Eagle, which is believed to have gone down Friday in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province in the southwestern part of the country near Iraq, The New York Times reported. Iranian officials quickly placed a bounty on the pilot’s head, calling on civilians to help capture him or her.

Retired Marine combat pilot Capt. Ron Alvarado told The Post the timing of the attack may bode in the US’s favor in terms of finding the pilot because of better night vision and infrared communication technology than Iranian combatants.

“We own the night,” Alvarado said. “Hopefully, he or she will be rescued by morning.”

By early Saturday local time there were no updates on the status of the missing pilot.

Both pilots reportedly ejected from the plane, with one located and rescued by US forces hours later. That pilot was being medically treated.

The Strike Eagle has an emergency locator beacon as part of a survival kit that can be activated automatically or manually, Alan Diehl, a former investigator for the Air Force Safety Center, said.Other US aircraft were caught in the crosshairs as crew members rushed into action after the first plane plunged to the ground.

Another US aircraft was also targeted after the initial attack that took down an A-10 Thunderbolt [aka Warthog]. 

The Warthog crashed in the Persian Gulf area after it was struck by Iranian forces, but the lone pilot was safely rescued, according to US officials.

The A-10 Warthog was able to reach Kuwaiti airspace, where the pilot ejected and the plane crashed, an official told liberal network NBC News.

Iran terrorists using rifles also struck a pair of US military helicopters involved in the F-15E rescue, but all crew members are safe, a US official told NBC News.

Some of the crew were injured, but the choppers safely returned to their base, the Washington Post reported.

The F-15E is the first US aircraft to be shot down in Iran during Operation Epic Fury, in which the US and Israel have launched 20,000 strikes on the evil regime as the war stretched into its sixth week.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed its “newly developed and advanced air defenses” had downed the jet, which was “completely destroyed and crashed,” Tehran’s Press TV reported. 

A photo circulating online appeared to show one of the ejected seats seen at the top of the post.

The anchor of a local affiliate of the state TV broadcaster earlier urged Iranians to hunt down the downed “enemy” pilots and the regime is offering a reward for his capture.

“If you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police, you will receive a precious prize,” the anchor said, according to the Associated Press.  Sources at Brain Flushings believes the reward to be 72 virgin goats.

President Trump, in a brief NBC News interview Friday afternoon, declined to discuss the specifics of the ongoing search for the outstanding pilot but insisted the series of strikes against US jets and choppers won’t sidetrack negotiations.

“No, not at all. No, it’s war,” he said. “We’re in war.”

The good news is that the pilot has not been captured and is likely using tactics to avoid detection, giving him a good chance of escape and return to friendly forces.

Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have boasted about how the operation against Tehran has knocked out much of Iran’s capabilities.

Hegseth said in early March near the start of the war that the US was “establishing total dominance over the skies we fly over and seas we fly over.”

Meanwhile, President Trump, in a primetime address to the nation Wednesday, said thanks to progress made during the war, his administration was “on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly, very shortly.”

More than 90% of Tehran’s missile and drone capacities have been eliminated in the month-long war, US officials have said. Still, Trump has refused to rule out putting American boots on the ground during the conflict.

On Friday, Iran used the successful attacks to taunt the US, reminiscent of Monty Python's "Black Knight."

Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf criticized the US in an X post Friday that its “no-strategy war … has now been downgraded from ‘regime change’ to ‘Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?’”

A US F-35A was also damaged over Iran on March 19 during a combatmission, and 16 MQ-9 drones have been shot down. Three American F-15 fighter jets were also shot down over Kuwait in a friendly fire incident.

Hegseth revealed in a Pentagon news conference that the six downed crew members in those jets had “never left the theater” and returned to drop bombs on Tehran Tuesday.

Since the start of the war, 365 US service members have been wounded in action while the death toll is at 13, according to the Pentagon data available online.

It’s unclear if Friday’s incidents have been included in those figures.

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Hegseth retires Army chief of staff as Pentagon gets house-cleaning

War Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down and take immediate retirement Thursday in a sweeping leadership house cleaning as the U.S. military remains engaged in combat with Iran.

A senior War Department official told Fox News that the War Secretary called George Thursday and asked for his immediate retirement, saying, "It was time for a leadership change in the Army."

Chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement on X, "General Randy A. George will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately. The Department of War is grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement."

An Army official told Fox News Hegseth did not give George any reason for asking him to step down, but naturally, our hearts go out for him.

George, the Army’s top uniformed officer and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was nominated by alleged former President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2023. He had been expected to serve a four-year term through roughly 2027.

Prior to becoming Army chief, George, a career infantry officer with combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, served as senior military assistant to former sissy Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin from 2021 to 2022, according to his official biography.

Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army’s vice chief of staff, will serve as acting chief, according to a senior War Department official.

Look, this move underscores growing tensions between Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.

Hegseth recently intervened to remove multiple Army officers from a promotion list after Driscoll refused to do so, an unusual step, and probably a fireable offense.

The disagreement caught the attention of the White House, which reviews senior military promotion lists before they are sent to the Senate, the official said.

And this abrupt removal also marks the latest in a series of high-level military leadership changes under Hegseth, who has moved aggressively to reshape senior ranks for a change where high testosterone men will lead the military.

The shakeups have included the removal or sidelining of several top uniformed leaders across the services, such as former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, both of whom were pushed out earlier in the second Trump administration.

Other moves have reached deep into the military’s senior leadership pipeline. Hegseth replaced the Army’s vice chief of staff earlier in 2026 and removed Lt. Gen. Jennifer Short from her role as senior military assistant, installing close allies in key advisory positions.

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Iran regime running low on missiles with "widespread desertions"

Iranian missile strikes have dropped to their "lowest number" yet over the past 24 hours, as Operation Epic Fury sparks "widespread desertions" among Tehran's fighting force, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday morning.

"The last 24 hours saw the lowest number of enemy missiles and drones fired by Iran," Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon. "Our strikes are damaging the morale of the Iranian military, leading to widespread desertions, key personnel shortages, and causing frustrations amongst senior leaders."

"They will go underground, but we will find them," Hegseth said of the Islamic Republic’s remaining leadership. "We recently destroyed another one of their command bunkers. Leaders forced to flee, no water, no power, no oxygen, no command and control. Their faith in their caves diminishing."

The chaos and confusion inside the regime has allowed U.S. forces to penetrate deeper into Iran, hitting missile systems and other targets based on real-time intelligence. The United States conducted some 200 dynamic strikes through Monday evening, with fighter pilots being fed updated targeting information mid-air. These types of attacks have allowed the U.S. military to take out Iran’s mobile missile launchers and troop formations while they move into place.

"A dynamic target is one that changes while you're in the air because of improved intelligence, 200 dynamic strikes alone, in addition to the pre-planned targets," Hegseth said, confirming that among the targets was an ammunition depot inside Iran’s Esfahan nuclear complex. Trump posted a video of the strike Monday evening on Truth Social, showing 2,000 pound bunker busters hammering the military site.

"The upcoming days will be decisive," Hegseth said. "Iran knows that, and there's almost nothing they can militarily do about it. Yes, they will still shoot some missiles, but we will shoot them down."

Hegseth said that Iran’s remaining leadership would be wise to strike a deal with Trump while the offer remains on the table.

"The new Iranian regime should know that by now this new regime, because regime change has occurred, should be wiser than the last," he said. "President Trump will make a deal, he is willing, and the terms of the deal are known to them. If Iran is not willing, then the United States War Department will continue with even more intensity."

The U.S. military has struck more than 11,000 targets over the past 30 days and is now conducting the first "overland missions" with B-52 bomber planes, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, who spoke alongside Hegseth. These missions have allowed U.S. troops "to get on top of the enemy," pressuring regime assets as they move across the battlefield.

Attack helicopters have also joined the fight, bringing "close air support assets into the naval domain," Caine said. These operations have helped sink more than 150 Iranian ships, including all of the Islamic Republic’s advanced Jamaran class frigates, which are designed to destroy submarines from long distances.

"We continue to prosecute our campaign against their defense industrial base at scale," Caine said. "This includes factories, warehouses, nuclear weapons, research and development labs, and the associated infrastructure required for Iran to reconstitute its combat capability."

Hegseth said in the press conference that the United States remains focused on opening the Strait of Hormuz but noted that the issue "is not just the United States of America’s problem set."Trump, in a Tuesday morning Truth Social post, said that Western allies like the United Kingdom need to "build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT. You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us. Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!"

Trump has also recently floated the possibility of seizing Iran’s main oil hub, Kharg Island, and Hegseth indicated those plans could be put into action soon.

"Our adversary right now thinks there are 15 different ways we could come at them with boots on the ground," Hegseth said. "And guess what: There are."

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Trump thinking about leaving NATO: sees it as "paper tiger"

Signaling a seismic shift in the post-World War II global order, President Donald Trump said he is “strongly considering” withdrawing the United States from NATO, delivering one of his clearest warnings that Washington may no longer be willing to underwrite European security without reciprocal support. If this comes to pass, this will render NATO impotent.

Delivered in a characteristically blunt interview with The Telegraph, Trump argued the alliance has become a “one-way street,” with the United States expected to defend Europe while allies decline to support American operations.

The catalyst for this potential divorce is the refusal of European allies to support the U.S.-led effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for 20 percent of the world’s oil, which has been temporarily shuttered by Tehran.

Asked whether he would reconsider U.S. membership after the war with Iran is over, Trump did not hedge.

“Oh yes, I would say beyond reconsideration,” he said. “I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way.”

Trump pointed directly to European reluctance to support efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for 20 percent of the world’s oil that has been shuttered by Iran, as evidence that the alliance is failing. He noted that while the United States has “automatically” stood by Europe, including in non-member states like Ukraine, the favor has not been returned.

“They weren’t there for us,” Trump remarked, specifically lambasting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for a lack of naval support.

Senior administration officials are now echoing the president’s frustration.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that continued U.S. participation in NATO cannot be taken for granted if allies expect protection while limiting American military flexibility.

“If NATO is just about us defending Europe if they’re attacked but then denying us basing rights when we need them, that’s not a very good arrangement,” Rubio said.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth went further, arguing the war has exposed a fundamental imbalance.

“You don’t have much of an alliance if you have countries that are not willing to stand with you when you need them,” Hegseth stated.

The statements point to a hardening of the administration’s NATO stance. Sources suggest the White House is eyeing a model that would block delinquent or uncooperative members from decision-making and is revisiting plans to withdraw troops from Germany.

As the U.S. and Israel continue air strikes against Iran’s nuclear program, the message from Washington is clear: the era of the American “blank check” for European security is over. If NATO will not serve as a platform for mutual security, President Trump appears ready to walk away from the table entirely.

This move seems to be a long time coming. The U.S. has always carried most of the financial burden for NATO, and even when Trump demanded they pay their share, the treaty nations always got a bargain price for membership compared to the United States.

According to Grok: 

In absolute dollar terms (total defense spending, which funds NATO's real strength): The United States dominates, spending an estimated $980 billion in 2025 — about 62% of all NATO defense spending combined (total NATO ~$1.59 trillion).

Next are Germany ($94 billion) and the UK ($91 billion). All other members are far behind.

I suspect NATO members are quivering in their boots when considering the global implications.

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