WASHINGTON: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to acknowledge that the Pentagon has developed plans to take over Greenland and Panama by force if necessary but refused to answer repeated questions at a hotly combative congressional hearing Thursday about his use of Signal chats to discuss military operations.
\nDemocratic members of the House Armed Services Committee repeatedly got into heated exchanges with Hegseth, with some of the toughest lines of questioning coming from military veterans as many demanded yes or no answers and he tried to avoid direct responses about his actions as Pentagon chief.
\nIn one back-and-forth, Hegseth did provide an eyebrow-raising answer. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Washington, asked whether the Pentagon has developed plans to take Greenland or Panama by force if necessary.
\n\u201cOur job at the Defense Department is to have plans for any contingency,\u201d Hegseth said several times.
\nIt is not unusual for the Pentagon to draw up contingency plans for conflicts that have not arisen, but his handling of the questions prompted a Republican lawmaker to step in a few minutes later.
\n\u201cIt is not your testimony today that there are plans at the Pentagon for taking by force or invading Greenland, correct?\u201d said Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio.
\nAs Hegseth started to repeat his answer about contingency plans, Turner added emphatically, \u201cI sure as hell hope that is not your testimony.\u201d
\n\u201cWe look forward to working with Greenland to ensure that it is secured from any potential threats,\u201d Hegseth responded.
\nTime and again, lawmakers pressed Hegseth to answer questions he has avoided for months, including during the two previous days of hearings on Capitol Hill. And frustration boiled over.
\n\u201cYou\u2019re an embarrassment to this country. You\u2019re unfit to lead,\u201d Rep. Salud Carbajal snapped, the California Democrat\u2019s voice rising. \u201cYou should just get the hell out.\u201d
\nGOP lawmakers on several occasions apologized to Hegseth for the Democrats\u2019 sharp remarks, saying he should not be subject to such \u201cflagrant disrespect.\u201d Hegseth said he was \u201chappy to take the arrows\u201d to make tough calls and do what\u2019s best.
\nQuestions emerge on Signal chats and if details Hegseth shared were classified
\nHegseth\u2019s use of two Signal chats to discuss details of the US plans to strike Houthi rebels in Yemen with other US leaders as well as members of his family prompted dizzying exchanges with lawmakers.
\nHegseth was pressed multiple times over whether or not he shared classified information and if he should face accountability if he did.
\nHegseth argued that the classification markings of any information about those military operations could not be discussed with lawmakers.
\nThat became a quick trap, as Hegseth has asserted that nothing he posted \u2014 on strike times and munitions dropped in March \u2014 was classified. His questioner, Rep. Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat and Marine veteran, jumped on the disparity.
\n\u201cYou can very well disclose whether or not it was classified,\u201d Moulton said.
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s not classified is that it was an incredible, successful mission,\u201d Hegseth responded.
\nA Pentagon watchdog report on his Signal use is expected soon.
\nMoulton asked Hegseth whether he would hold himself accountable if the inspector general finds that he placed classified information on Signal, a commercially available app.
\nHegseth would not directly say, only noting that he serves \u201cat the pleasure of the president.\u201d
\nHe was asked if he would apologize to the mother of a pilot flying the strike mission for jeopardizing the operation and putting her son\u2019s life at risk. Hegseth said, \u201cI don\u2019t apologize for success.\u201d
\nTrump\u2019s speech at Fort Bragg raises Democratic concerns about politics in the military
\nGen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who appeared along Hegseth, was questioned about Trump\u2019s speech at Fort Bragg this week and whether the military was becoming politicized.
\nThe Defense Department has a doctrine that prohibits troops from participating in political activity while in uniform. Members of the 82nd Airborne Division were directed to stand behind Trump at Fort Bragg, and they booed and cheered during his incendiary remarks, including condemnation of his predecessor, Joe Biden.
\nThere also was a pop-up MAGA merchandise stand selling souvenirs to troops in uniform.
\nCaine repeatedly said US service members must be apolitical but that he was unaware of anything that happened at Fort Bragg.
\nHegseth is pressed about policies on women in uniform and transgender troops
\nHegseth got into a sharp debate about whether women and transgender service members should serve in the military or combat jobs.
\nHe said he has worked to remove diversity programs and political correctness from the military. He said he has not politicized the military but simply wants the most capable troops.
\nRep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pennsylvania, demanded to know if Hegseth believes that both men and women can pull a trigger, cause death, operate a drone or launch a missile.
\n\u201cIt depends on the context,\u201d Hegseth said, adding that \u201cwomen carry equipment differently, a 155 round differently, a rucksack differently.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hegseth, who has previously said women \u201cstraight up\u201d should not serve in combat, asserted that women have joined the military in record numbers under the Trump administration. He said the military \u201cstandards should be high and equal.\u201d
\nHe also was asked about three female service members \u2014 now being forced out as part of the Pentagon\u2019s move to ban transgender troops.
\nHegseth agreed that their accomplishments \u2014 which Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., read out \u2014 were to be celebrated, until he learned they were transgender.
\nRepublican lawmakers jumped to his defense, criticizing any Pentagon spending on gender transition surgery.
\nDemocrats ask about plans for action against Greenland and Panama
\nPresident Donald Trump has said multiple times that he wants to take control of Greenland, a strategic, mineral-rich island and long a US ally. Those remarks have been met with flat rejections from the leaders of Greenland, an autonomous territory that is part of Denmark.
\n\u201cGreenland is not for sale,\u201d Jacob Isbosethsen, Greenland\u2019s representative to the U.S, said Thursday at a forum in Washington sponsored by the Arctic Institute.
\nIn an effort not to show the Pentagon\u2019s hand on its routine effort to have plans for everything, Hegseth danced around the direct question from Smith, leading to the confusion.
\n\u201cSpeaking on behalf of the American people, I don\u2019t think the American people voted for President Trump because they were hoping we would invade Greenland,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to acknowledge that the Pentagon has developed plans to take over Greenland and Panama by force if necessary but refused to answer repeated questions at a hotly combative congressional hearing Thursday about his use of Signal chats to discuss military operations. Democratic members of the House Armed Services Committee …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":82383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82369"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82384,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82369\/revisions\/82384"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}