Feud EXPLODES between Jon Ossoff & Pete Hegseth over SIMPLE question

On day 14 of this conflict, Mr. Secretary, day 14 nearly 5 months ago, you stated that Iran's military had been. {quote} destroyed and {quote} made. combat ineffective. That was on day 14. of the war. Was that an accurate. statement? >> Um they didn't have a navy any longer. It's completely sunk. Their missiles. were buried underneath a a lot of their. underground facilities and their defense. industrial base has been. almost completely destroyed. So, as far. as a military assessment of Iran's. capabilities, it doesn't didn't by any.

stretch of the imagination absolute. zero, but their capability. >> Mr. Secretary, you stated that on day 14. of this conflict, in the second week of. the conflict, you stated that Iran's. military had been {quote} destroyed and. {quote} made combat ineffective. Was. that an accurate statement? Yes or no? >> Iran's ability to challenge the United. States of America at the level at which. we're capable of. >> That's not what I asked you, Mr. Secretary. You said on day 14 Iran's. military had been {quote} destroyed and.

{quote} made combat ineffective. Yes or. no, was that an accurate statement? >> What the American military has done to. the Iranian military is a historic. military victory. >> answer the question under oath? Yes or. no? Yes or no? Three weeks later, you declared victory. That was now nearly 4 months ago. Three weeks after you'd already said. Iran's military was destroyed and combat. ineffective, you said {quote} Operation. Epic Fury was a historic and.

overwhelming victory. You said Iran's. military had been rendered {quote}. combat ineffective for years to come. And you stated we had {quote} achieved. every single objective. Were those. accurate statements? >> Uh it certainly was on behalf of the men. and women in uniform a historic military. victory over Iran. >> Had Iran's military been rendered. {quote} combat ineffective for years to. come? That was the statement that you. made 4 months ago. >> naval vessels. >> to answer the questions, Mr. ineffective.

and they don't have a defense industrial. base. So describe to me a country that. doesn't have an air force and navy or. a defense industrial base and I will. describe to you a country that country. that does not have an effective. military. It can lob missiles. >> Mr. Secretary you stated 4 months ago. that Iran's military had been rendered. quote combat ineffective for years to. come. Has Iran's military been for the. last 4 months combat ineffective? >> It's been set back not just years but.

likely decades considering you can't. rebuild at the level they did before not. even close. It doesn't mean it doesn't. have capabilities. >> Mr. Secretary you stated we had quote. achieved every single objective. Was. that an accurate statement 4 months ago? >> The main objective of this was to ensure. that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. Their main sites were obliterated. We're. watching over them and we're holding. that issue. If they don't give them up. at the table, there's other ways we can. take them away. Iran will never have a. nuclear weapon. >> Mr. Secretary early in the conflict day. three you said one of those core. objectives was to quote destroy the.

missile threat and as you restated on. day five to quote obliterate Iran's. missiles and drones. Those were clearly. and repeatedly stated core objectives of. the campaign which 4 months ago you. declared had been completed victoriously. with every single objective achieved. Were those objectives achieved 4 months. ago? >> No, I never stated that every single. missile was gone. Ultimately combat. ineffective means they're not able to. dig them out of their UGFs and shoot. them. It doesn't mean they don't have.

underground facilities where they put. missiles in them and hold on to them cuz. they're the the world's largest state. sponsor of terrorism. So we never. expected they would stop having. capabilities to shoot. The question is. at scale against opponent like the. United States of America which went. toe-to-toe with them and Iran couldn't. >> You stated on March 8th day nine of the. war on 60 Minutes you assured the. American people of Iranian surrender. Does that remain your prediction? >> Ultimately, Iran will never have a. nuclear weapon to threaten the United. States of America. That has been the.

objective and it remains so. >> So, just to review, you will not answer. whether your statement made on the 14th. day of the war that Iran's military had. been, quote, destroyed and made combat. ineffective was a truthful statement to. the American people as you sit here and. ask for tens of billions more for the. government. >> time has expired. >> and effective military campaign against. the largest state sponsor of terrorism. >> Won't answer the question. >> Senator, your time has expired, Senator. >> is recognized. >> That right there is why Jon Ossoff is.

one of the most effective communicators. in the Democratic Party and it puts on. full display the ineffectiveness of. someone like Pete Hegseth, who may love. his little Fox News hits and his. pre-screened interviews with the few. right-wing journalists who are still. allowed into the Department of Defense, but once he's actually confronted with a. real question and a real follow-up, he. relies not on the facts, but on his own. belligerence. If Hegseth's testimony. shows us anything, it's that the. goalpost will always move with this. administration. You'll remember that.

last summer the strike on Iran was. supposed to have been to obliterate. Iran's nuclear capabilities, then 6. months later we apparently needed to go. in again to strike what we'd already. obliterated previously, then the goal. was regime change wherein we went from. Ayatollah Khamenei to Ayatollah. Khamenei, then it was to control the. Strait of Hormuz, which, by the way, was. already open before the war even began. On issue after issue, this. administration has only moved the. goalpost so that they can accomplish. nothing and yet still miraculously give.

themselves credit for some non-existent. success. The reality is that we didn't achieve. some huge victory because if we did, and. uh I'm going to use some basic logic. here, we wouldn't still be there. When Spain. beat Argentina this week in at the World. Cup and got the trophy, they didn't keep. playing. You know why? Because when you. win, you stop. The fact that we are. still in Iran suggests that maybe, just. maybe, we didn't win this war any more. than when George Bush declared mission.

accomplished in 2003, only for the US to. be at war for another decade. And in. terms of Iran's military being rendered. combat ineffective, if Pete Hegseth is. telling the truth, why are we still. fighting? If they were combat. ineffective, wouldn't we be able to do. anything we wanted? Wouldn't we have no. problem taking over the Strait of. Hormuz? No problem decimating their. nuclear enrichment facilities, which we. already promised happened? Look, I'm not. a military expert. I don't claim to be a. military expert, but I do have common.

sense. And if all of these things that. Pete Hegseth is swearing up and down are. happening, then why are we still there, still fighting, still spending money, and still unable to achieve our goals? The reality is that Pete Hegseth is. lying through his teeth because he is. unqualified to run this department, just. as Trump is unprepared for this war. And. Hegseth's only tactic here is to just. throw temper tantrums and wave around. jingoistic platitudes like this. >> the destruction of missiles, and yet the. missiles that we saw hit recent targets.

are actually somehow more lethal, more. deadly, more maneuverable than what we. have seen in the past. So, they're. obviously. improving their munitions. The Strait of. Hormuz is still closed, reminding. everybody it was open before the war. Prices were lower for everybody until. the war, and it still remains closed. And of course, tragically, people, service members, our war fighters, who. we care deeply about, are still dying.

So, what's different? Mr. Hegseth, so Secretary Hegseth. >> I think your characterization of this. incredible effort as a failure is. reckless. Uh, and I think it's. irresponsible, and I think it smears the. sacrifice of the troops that are out. there making on behalf of the American. people to ensure that Iran never gets a. nuclear weapon. Shame on you and others. who call this a quagmire and a failure. and then you want to turn around and say. you support the war fighter. Either you. do or you don't. >> Is the nuclear material still there? >> I can get you a ticket out to CENTCOM. and talk to what those Americans are. doing and how committed they are to this. effort and how they want to ensure that.

Iran never threatens their families with. a nuclear weapon. It's It is that That's. the kind of intensity that our war. fighters have about making sure that. Iran isn't capable of. >> Senator Hagel, if you if you listened to. my comments, you told you would have. heard me say how amazing our war. fighters are. >> failure. The word heard I I heard. exactly what you said. >> how I used the word failure cuz I used. the word failure to their leaders. You, sir, are the failure. Not the men and. women who are on that front line. Not. the the men and women who hold up their. honor with distinction.

But if there's a lack of a winning. strategy, they're in harm's way. Their. leaders have failed them. And that's. what's happening. We have political. leadership. You, you don't have a. strategy. You don't have a long-term. plan to actually win this war. Win the. war. The men and women are going to be. able to do it but they need to have. leadership. >> Of course we have leadership. Of course. we have leadership. Why don't you show some leadership and. stand up your fellow Democrats who won't. fund the troops? Who stand and play. partisan politics while you don't give. us the money. You want to stand up here. and talk about the troops? You won't.

show any political courage to actually. fund our department because you have. Trump Derangement Syndrome and can't. actually commit to anything meaningful. So I put this on you, Senator. >> Senator Hagel, you have trillions You. have a over a trillion dollars you're. asking for one and a half trillion. dollars. It's not a question of money. It's a question of leadership and. understanding what it takes to actually. win. >> Political cowardice of Democrats who. won't fund the troops. >> Yes, apparently when you confront a. government that is sending American kids.

to die in a disastrous war with no plan, somehow that is an attack on the troops. Like talk about a coward. Hiding. behind kids that he's sending into a. doomed war effort to hide his own. incompetence sounds about fitting for an. administration led by a guy who himself. avoided service because of elusive bone. spurs. So, good on Jon Ossoff for. holding Pete Hegseth's feet to the fire, but no amount of gaslighting is going to. change the reality on the ground, nor. will it change what Americans can see.

with our own eyes, that this White House. is only further bungling a war that they. swore they would never get us into in. the first place. >> [music]. >> Before you go, I'm very excited to. announce that I've written a new book. titled The Day After: How to wield power. in a post-Trump world. The book explores. what is, in my opinion, the single most. important theme that we're dealing with. in politics today and moving forward, power. Specifically, how Republicans. abuse it and how Democrats refuse to. wield it. This book explains how we got.

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