Ruptly
"War Secretary Pete Hegseth was asked if he was on a 'power trip' over Iran - and if he'd consider changing his department to the 'Department of Peace' - as he held the latest Pentagon briefing on Iran on Friday. "When you give these orders to carry out this extreme level of violence, what's going through your mind and your body? Do you have an adrenaline rush? Are you scared? Do you feel like you're on a power trip?" he was asked. Hegseth replied: "My only thought process is to ensure that our war fighters have everything they need to be successful, defeat and destroy the enemy, and they come home. I want them to feel empowered, to have every authority they need within our rules and within our law to bring maximum violence to the enemy, because war is violent." Another reporter from the same agency asked him if he would "consider changing the name again to the Department of Peace." "It's a great question, actually; you go from defence to war because you want to be proactive about peace through strength," he said. "And really, I gave a speech in front of generals about what the ethos of the War Department is all about because I wanted to go through every echelon of this department. It means something. It's not just words." Earlier this week, Trump said he was extending the ceasefire with Iran - set to expire Wednesday - "until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal." On Friday, Pakistani media reported that an Iranian delegation led by foreign minister Abbas Araghchi was set to arrive in Islamabad the same day. The US and Iran agreed the initial two-week ceasefire on April 8, following five and a half weeks of fighting - and a global energy crisis surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. Both sides accused each other of violating the truce. The first round of talks were held in Islamabad on April 11-12 - with more scheduled for earlier this week, but those did not materialise. "
Go to News Site