Hegseth HAD been the point guy late last year , into early this year, on drug boats and then the Trump Iran ‘War’….
That was then….
The Defense Sec…..
NOT the Sec. of ‘War’….
Lately ?….He Has been running on mostly on silent…..
Getting into it with members of the Senate as he axes General’s that have had connections with the Senate….
Then?
Asking the same lawmakers for BILLIONS in extra money….
Then?
Becoming a problem for a President who doesn’t REALLY want to fight with Iran….
(With Iran fighting BACK)
Who just wants the problem to go away…..
Hegseth’s ‘Crusade’s simply does NOT fit the Trump narrative now….
The public positioning of the top Trump advisers reflects reporting on their private counsel to the commander in chief, with Trump saying in March that Hegseth was “the first one” to speak up in support of military operations against Iran. Vance, Trump has said, was notably less enthusiastic about the war.
Anthony Constantini, policy director at conservative advocacy group the Bull Moose Project, said Hegseth was the “bad cop” during the active operations against Iran and now Vance is playing the role of “good cop.”
Hegseth’s “job” is to present Trump with military options against Tehran, Constantini told The Hill, adding it would be “odd” if the Pentagon chief was “constantly talking” about the agreement….
…
“But he’s not interested in the hard work of all of these other things that secretary of Defense ought to care about, like force design and how to keep the peace,” she continued, adding this is specifically relevant to the Iran conflict.
Chiu, who is also a Jeane Kirkpatrick Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, noted Hegseth is far from alone within the administration in staying silent about the deal. Talks mediated by Qatar and Pakistan are currently stuck on Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, delaying potential progress on nuclear issues.
“I think because they realize that it’s not a great deal — doesn’t mean nothing good can come of it, but it’s not a good deal — and so I think the less attention they draw to it, the better, is the general attitude about it,” she said….
…
Both Hegseth and Trump have emphasized that the U.S. still has an enormous military presence surrounding Iran, which includes two aircraft carrier strike groups deployed to the Middle East.
Allison McManus, a managing director for the National Security and International Policy department at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, attributed part of Hegseth’s low visibility to not being involved in diplomatic talks, along with a general lack of good news to tout. …
…
Jason Dempsey, who served more than two decades as an Army infantry officer, argued Hegseth was willing to speak early on in the war as the U.S. goals came across as “maximalist and unambiguous,” and it was “safe” to talk about putting more pressure on Iran.
He told The Hill that since Trump is now looking to strike a deal and end the conflict, Hegseth has little to gain by talking tough and risks contradicting a president who regularly shifts between belligerent threats and optimistic predictions of a diplomatic breakthrough….
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McManus said Trump and the White House also see “less of a role” for Hegseth to play in speaking publicly about the memorandum, given that military operations against Iran are not the “primary mode any longer of engaging” with the Islamic Republic….
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