The United States military appears highly dominant in the war against\nIran. Over 38 days of airstrikes, US fighter jets conducted more than\n13,000 combat sorties, destroying Iranian military capabilities from\nindustrial facilities to nuclear sites.<\/p>\n
However, behind the success of that operation, the Pentagon is being\nshaken by internal conflict.<\/p>\n
This is occurring amid the largest US war in several decades. Instead\nof focusing on the conflict, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has\ncarried out a series of dismissals of military leaders, sparking\nconcerns about politicisation, internal military culture, and the future\nof professionalism in the US armed forces.<\/p>\n
Pentagon Rocked by Internal Purge<\/strong><\/p>\n On 2 April 2026, Pete Hegseth dismissed General Randy George, the\nhighest-ranking officer in the US Army, and sidelined two other senior\nleaders.<\/p>\n According to former US military officials, such actions are almost\nunprecedented, especially during a major war when ground forces are also\nmoving towards the Gulf region.<\/p>\n Hegseth did not explain the reasons for the sudden dismissals.\nHowever, many parties view them as the latest victims of a wave of\npurges targeting US military leadership.<\/p>\n Several former high-ranking military officials interviewed by The\nEconomist described the Pentagon as now filled with resentment,\npoliticisation, and Hegseth\u2019s obsession with instilling a masculine,\nanti-woke warrior spirit. According to them, this attitude could even\nextend to disdain for international law.<\/p>\n During a Pentagon press conference on Operation Epic Fury, Hegseth, a\nformer Fox News host, is sometimes seen as more preoccupied with culture\nwars than the actual war unfolding in Iran. One former military official\neven mocked him as like a 12-year-old playing war with toy soldiers.<\/p>\n Since taking office last year, Hegseth is said to have removed at\nleast 21 generals. Many of them are suspected of being dismissed without\nclear reasons, aside from possible factors like race, gender, or\ndiffering political views.<\/p>\n Kori Schake from the American Enterprise Institute said this has\nnever happened before. According to her, dismissing 21 senior leaders\nwithout clear reasons is highly unusual and has squandered talent built\nover centuries.<\/p>\n Randy George himself reportedly once opposed Hegseth\u2019s decision to\nstrike four officers from the promotion list last March.<\/p>\n Those four officers consisted of two Black men and two women. Such\nsituations have led some officers to opt for early retirement or\nwithdraw their names from the promotion process. This was stated by\nNancy Lacore, an admiral forced to retire last year and now running as a\ncongressional candidate in South Carolina.<\/p>\n Replacements Deemed Competent, But Still Raise\nQuestions<\/strong><\/p>\n Most of the appointed replacements are indeed considered to have good\nqualifications and no apparent strong political biases. However, some\ndecisions still raise questions.<\/p>\n One of them is the appointment of General Christopher LaNeve as Randy\nGeorge\u2019s replacement. LaNeve, previously Hegseth\u2019s military aide, is\nseen as having thin experience for the Army Chief of Staff position.\nThat role is crucial as it oversees soldier recruitment, training, and\nequipping.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, LaNeve is known to have called the president just hours\nafter the inauguration to welcome his return to the White House. The\npresident reportedly responded with an admiring comment about the\nindividual.<\/p>\n Concerns are not only coming from combat ranks but also from military\nlegal circles. A recently retired former high-ranking official from the\nUS Army\u2019s legal corps admitted worry that the new generation of military\nlawyers might seek legal justifications for whatever the government\ndesires.<\/p>\n Another senior military official described Hegseth\u2019s mindset as\nvictory at any cost. According to him, there is now a clear clash\nagainst the core values long believed in and upheld by the US\nmilitary.<\/p>\n Several former military officials suspect Hegseth is trying to fix\nthings that once angered him when he was a lieutenant and captain in the\nNational Guard. Hegseth himself once said the Army discarded him after\ncolleagues flagged him as an internal threat due to the Deus Vult tattoo\non his arm.<\/p>\n That symbol is known to be frequently used by white nationalist\ngroups. People inside the Pentagon also say Hegseth sometimes appears\nconfused during briefings. One former senior military leader even\nassessed that Hegseth might feel like an outsider when discussing\ncomplex strategic issues.<\/p>\n Despite all the turmoil, the US military remains effective in the war\nagainst Iran. This is seen as strong proof of the robustness of the US\narmed forces institution.<\/p>\n That success is primarily supported by technological superiority,\ndecades of combat experience, and the nonpartisan culture that has long\nbeen a key foundation of the US military. However, it is precisely that\nculture which is now seen as threatened by Hegseth.<\/p>\n Many parties worry that the impact of the internal damage under his\nleadership could last far longer than the US conflict with Iran\nitself.<\/p>",
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