Hegseth Muddies Iran Timeline: 'We Haven't Stated How Long It Will Take'
Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth muddied the waters further on how long the war in Iran would last after a confusing series of statements from the Trump administration.
Asked about a prior assessment that the conflict could last between three and eight weeks, Hegseth said that “from the beginning, from this podium, we haven't stated how long it will take.”
He added that President Donald Trump “has set a very specific mission to accomplish, and our job is to unrelentingly deliver that,” dismissing any “mission creep.”
“It's not for me to posit whether it's the beginning, the middle or the end, that's [Trump's decision],” he continued.
On Monday, Hegseth told CBS News that this was “only just the beginning” of the war.
Trump caused massive stock market swings when he told the same network hours later that the conflict was “very complete.”
At a press conference Monday night, Trump was asked about the differing assessments and suggested "both" could be true.
— HuffPost
As with Humpty Dumpty, what they say means exactly what they want it to mean, neither more nor less. And moment-to-moment, too! SAY ‘NO’ TO WAR! RESIST!
It is his job to listen to INFORMED advisers and make the decisions. If (well, not if) he has bad advisers, he should look in the mirror to see whose fault that is.
power and (supposed) prestige by association. People chosen for their ability and willingness to pet him constantly while singing his praises.
He chooses those he perceives as good looking with a certain TV star "quality" to live in his self-indulgent fantasy world.
In his head, all that matters is appearances. Just like on TV, the chosen can pretend to be anything, realistic or far-fetched.
His TV show portrayed him as something he absolutely never was... a successful, brilliant businessman. Producers knew he was a complete fraud, but he was willing to play the part because it made him feel good and the show made them a LOT of money while it lasted.
He is stuck in that mentality and his mental deterioration and full-blown dementia eliminate all of his doubts about his own "beauty", "star-quality", and fitness. He sees himself as a winner who cannot lose and whose ego cannot and will not recognize anything but him being basically perfect.
A trophy wife on his arm who tells him how wonderful he is and who makes him the envy of many other men is all he cares about in a spouse or girlfriend. Melania merely tolerates him. She spends almost no time in his presence. Perhaps she finds him as detestible as the rest of us do, but he's her pay day.
Same thing with those he hires as advisers and appointees. He perceives that he owns them. I think that Stephen Miller is the only one who he doesn't actually own but who has a power over him. He appears to seriously admire the guy and has given him enormous control over his regime.
on March 10, 2026, 1:43 pm
