Don’t call it a ‘quagmire’: defense secretary refuses to speculate on length of Iran war
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth deflected questions from Congress Wednesday on the future of the Iran war and attacked lawmakers who questioned the conflict’s purpose and goals, calling them “reckless, feckless and defeatist.”
A hearing on the Pentagon’s $1.45 trillion budget request for fiscal 2027 became a hotly contested debate on Iran, with House Armed Services Committee members asking how long the secretary expected the operation to last and Hegseth bristling at those who questioned the administration’s decision to go to war.
Committee members praised the work of the U.S. service members currently deployed to the Middle East, but they also wanted Hegseth to address the ultimate outcome.
Ranking committee member Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., asked Hegseth where the war was going. Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., said the military had executed the war with “tactical success” but called the administration’s strategy an example of “incompetence.”
The comments struck a nerve with Hegseth, who argued that President Donald Trump is the only U.S. leader to decide to physically stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
“The biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,” Hegseth said, addressing Garamendi and others who have opposed the operation.
“Shame on you calling this a quagmire two months in the effort,” Hegseth added.
When the U.S. and Israel launched combat operations in Iran on Feb. 28, Trump said the goals were three-fold: destroy Iran’s missile capability; “annihilate” their navy; and ensure that the country would never have nuclear weapons.
The operation killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several key leaders, destroyed Iran’s navy and wiped out key military installations. In retaliation, Iran launched missiles and air assaults on U.S. military facilities, killing 13 and damaging U.S. bases across the region, as well as civilian targets in Meddle East countries.
Hegseth noted that the Iranian navy has been destroyed, but Iran continues to have nuclear ambitions despite losing capabilities as a result of Operation Midnight Hammer last summer that Hegseth said “obliterated” facilities.
“You have to stare down this kind of enemy who’s hell bent on getting a nuclear weapon and get them to a point where they’re at the table giving it up,” Hegseth said.
The questions over the war’s future come as a 60-day deadline approaches Thursday under the War Powers Act. The legislation requires the president to seek congressional authorization to continue the operation or withdraw troops.
The law allows Trump to request an extension if the time is needed to safely withdraw U.S. troops.
