Free Republic

The official story is real — but incomplete. Operation Epic Fury’s stated goals — eliminating Iran’s nuclear program, destroying its missile arsenal, degrading its proxy networks, and annihilating its navy — are all legitimate grievances rooted in 47 years of Iranian hostility toward the United States. But they are the surface layer of a much deeper strategic play.

STUPID AND ARROGANT: Stephen A. Smith predicts Democrats will mistake a vote against Trump for a mandate, try to impeach Pete Hegseth and investigate Marco Rubio. “And that same kind of chaos is going to cost them the presidency in 2028.”

Radical, offensive Democrat Abdul Muhammed Al-Sayed sat down with Hasan Minhaj for an interview this week. During the interview Al-Sayed thought it would be good to bring up Pete’s mother! That’s where we are right now with these offensive, conscience-less Democrats, bringing up Republican moms! He also accused Pete of “riding the pine” or sitting on the bench his entire career. For the record, Pete Hegseth was an all-state basketball player in Minnesota. He was valedictorian of his high school and an all state basketball guard. Pete also played wide receiver in football. Pete was later inducted into his high...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired the Pentagon's top military planner as President Donald Trump considers renewed strikes on Iran following next week's midterm elections. Army Lt Gen Brett Sylvia was removed as head of strategy, plans and policy on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after he reportedly leaked classified information about the war in Iran and the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired the Pentagon's top military planner as President Donald Trump considers renewed strikes on Iran following next week's midterm elections. Army Lt Gen Brett Sylvia was removed as head of strategy, plans and policy on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after he reportedly leaked classified information about the war in Iran and the war between Russia and Ukraine. 'Although Sylvia's title was director of the Directorate for Strategy, Plans and Policy at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, known inside the military as the J5, he was NOT a central planner for the Iran War,' a...

On Friday, The New York Times reported military review boards are defying orders from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to discharge transgender service members, with Navy and Marine Corps boards frequently voting to retain them.President Donald Trump's administration created three-person separation boards with narrow instructions mandating dismissal of the estimated 4,250 transgender personnel currently serving in the military.Navy and Marine Corps boards have voted to retain trans members in nine of 12 cases. Marine Staff Sgt. Damien Contreras saw board members cross out instructions regarding "a history of cross sex hormone therapy" and circle "remains qualified."The Army and Air Force have...

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth ordered aides to fetch him a globe associated with legendary World War II General Dwight Eisenhower — and they broke it, The Washington Post reported Thursday. According to the Post, the large orb fell while being carried by untrained staff, resulting in the loss of a large chunk of the world near Antarctica. The Post reported that historic items are typically moved around the Pentagon premises by trained curators. However, Hegseth’s office had dispatched its own team. A Pentagon official told AFP in a statement that “an accident” had occurred. However, the statement referred to the...

Guess what, Audie? President Obama was not on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Truman was not aboard the Enola Gay. Ordering something and carrying it out are different jobs. But on Friday's CNN This Morning, host Audie Cornish held Pete Hegseth to a different standard. The setup was Jonah Goldberg criticizing the way Hegseth had announced the public firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the Islamist terrorist who murdered 13 soldiers at Fort Hood: "Secretary Chesty McBroseph is just trying to show off how macho he is; a max-T thing." Cornish then took her shot at Hegseth. "And...

The U.S. military fired upon a suspected drug boat operating in the Caribbean Sea on Oct. 4, killing four. “Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel’s active involvement in narco-trafficking,” the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a press statement announcing the strike. “The operation killed four narco-terrorists.” Along with the statement, SOUTHCOM shared footage purporting to show the moment the suspect vessel was bombed. The military command did not provide any additional identifying information about those killed aboard the vessel or their affiliations. Since early 2025, the State Department has designated several Latin American drug trafficking cartels as foreign terrorist organizations....

Jonathan Lemire has made a stunning theological discovery! On Thursday's Morning Joe, Lemire played a clip of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at Quantico in which he said, "As Psalm 33:12 extols us, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." Lemire's verdict: "Yet again, another moment where Secretary Hegseth uses explicitly Christian rhetoric to describe the military." Just one problem. It's not "explicitly Christian rhetoric." It is a line from the Psalms, written long before the Christian church emerged. Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

A Washington Post opinion writer called a source for his own paper’s newsroom a “traitor,” saying the person “ought to be prosecuted” for leaking confidential US military info to reporters. Marc Thiessen, a conservative columnist for the broadsheet, was outraged over his colleagues’ reporting that top military brass have warned War Secretary Pete Hegseth that prolonged large-scale operations against Iran risk weakening the US’ ability to confront threats at home. The article, which was published Sunday, noted the warnings were contained in a classified Aug. 14 edition of the Secretary of Defense Orders Book, citing anonymous sources familiar with the...

President Donald Trump announced an historic energy deal with Venezuela in a Truth Social post Friday night. The president called the deal “THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY.” Trump wrote that the United States secured “majority U.S. control” of over 65 million barrels’ worth of Venezuelan oil reserves. Trump credited Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez and “a partnership with private business.” The president stated that the deal more than doubles American reserves and will “substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans.” He added that the deal would strengthen the...

Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq reported drone attacks in their territory Monday amid a lull in US air strikes against Iran, after nearly two weeks of fighting between both sides. The Israel Defense Forces said Monday morning that it shot down two drones over the Jordan border, near the Dead Sea, adding that the drones did not cross into Israeli territory. Their origin was under investigation, the army said. Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry, meanwhile, said it shot down drones aimed at petroleum targets, some in its eastern province and others in the capital Riyadh. It said the drones had...

A contentious Senate hearing on a supplemental budget request of nearly $88 billion, largely earmarked to cover the ongoing war on Iran, revealed new figures about the war’s cost to date and the effects of the military’s Project Freedom initiative to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz. The hearing did little, however, to provide concrete answers on what it would take to end the conflict. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared Tuesday before the Senate Appropriations Committee alongside the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, to defend the request, more than $67 billion...

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) pressed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in a testy exchange on Iran and the state of the Strait of Hormuz. At a Tuesday Senate hearing, Kennedy questioned both Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. John D. Caine on the Strait as tensions have escalated between the United States and Iran with the U.S. launching days of strikes and Iran continuing to target ships in the Strait. “Will they put tolls on the Strait?” Kennedy asked Caine. “I don’t know, sir. That’s a decision that’s a hypothetical and will depend on what happens in the...

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., accused Secretary of War Pete Hegseth of asking Americans to ‘foot the bill’ for a war they don’t support during a Senate hearing.

The world is far safer after President Donald J. Trump’s highly successful, decisive precision strikes against the Iranian regime’s key nuclear facilities. Take it from those who actually know: President Trump: “Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term! The white structure shown is deeply imbedded into the rock, with even its roof well below ground level, and completely shielded from flame. The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!” Israel Atomic Energy Commission: “The devastating US strike on Fordo destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and...

Comments 573 WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that he is rolling out a new screening program for “testosterone deficiency” among troops, calling it necessary to allow them to operate at their “absolute best.” The screenings will be conducted annually as part of service members’ required medical screenings for those 30 and older, he said. Troops under 30 can volunteer to be tested. In a video on social media, Hegseth said receiving testosterone replacement therapy would be voluntary. In the video, Hegseth simply refers to troops, though it appears he is talking about only testing men in...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was planning to head to Brussels last month to deliver what would be a bombshell announcement in a meeting with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s top military chiefs. The U.S., he planned to say, was preparing additional cuts to its forces in Europe that would go beyond the canceled deployment of an armored brigade to Poland and the earlier withdrawal of an infantry brigade from Romania, people familiar with the matter said. But Hegseth’s proposal was nixed after it was shared with Marco Rubio—President Trump’s national-security adviser—and other senior officials, the people said. Instead, Hegseth said...

Former US Senator Norm Coleman, who was appointed Monday by Pete Hegseth to a position on the US Defense Policy Board, said a year ago that ‘the masters of the universe are Jews.’ (LifeSiteNews) — After the Monday appointment of former U.S. Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota to vice chair of the U.S. Defense Policy Board by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, a year-old clip has resurfaced of his exclaiming “the masters of the universe are Jews.”Coleman, who also serves as national chair of the Republican Jewish Coalition, drew attention for remarks made in April 2025 at the Jewish News...