The Pentagon is pushing back against a report that military leaders are warning that a sustained, large-scale military operation against Iran is unsustainable and risks America’s ability to confront threats across the globe and at home.
The Washington Post reported Sunday that several military leaders — including the Navy’s top admiral and the commanders overseeing Europe, Asia and Latin America — warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth they don’t agree with keeping forces deployed to the Middle East through September and possibly into 2027. The chiefs of the Army and Air Force agreed with extending their forces but said doing so comes with significant risk.
The commanders raised concerns about ships, aircraft and munitions being redirected to support the Iran operation, saying that is limiting missions and training elsewhere. The operation, which just passed the six-month mark, is straining maintenance and readiness, while the war has drained key munitions, according to outside experts
Their warnings were included in the Aug. 14 Secretary of Defense Orders Book,
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a classified document used to allocate forces around the world and collect military leaders’ assessments of the risks associated with those decisions, the Post reported. It said the objections were recorded as “non-concurs,” meaning the leaders disagreed but would still carry out the orders.
The Post cited unnamed people familiar with the document who spoke on the condition of anonymity because it is classified.
“Publishing highly classified assessments from the Secretary’s orders book is a crime,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Sunday.
“It’s a betrayal of the force,” Parnell, an assistant secretary of defense, said in a post on X. “And much of what they’re publishing is inaccurate. Of course, we demand candid military advice. Non-concurs are standard. The Secretary sees them constantly. That’s how you run a real military.”
Parnell said the Post’s reporting “isn’t about readiness” but about “they hate President Trump and Secretary Hegseth more than they love America.”
The Washington Post defended its reporting as accurate and legal.“We’re confident in our reporting, our sourcing and the protections that guarantee the rights of news organizations to publish information in the public interest that holds officials accountable,” Olivia Petersen, a spokesperson for the newspaper, said in a statement on X. “The assertion that such publication is a crime is both incorrect and irresponsible.”
On Capitol Hill, Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-California), a former undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said the Post’s report is troubling.
“If this article is true, it is just another example of mismanagement by Pete Hegseth. He continues to make decisions against the advice of senior leaders without regard for the effect it will have on personnel and equipment,” Cisneros said in a post on X. “He either does not comprehend the consequences of his decisions, or he just doesn’t give a damn. Unfortunately, his decisions today will have a negative impact on readiness for years to come.”
Separately, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois), a senior member of the House Intelligence Committee, said the war with Iran is straining military readiness. Asked on Bloomberg on Sunday whether the U.S. is prepared for a conflict with China, he said, “No, we’re not.”
He pointed to the movement of the carrier USS George Washington from the Pacific to the Middle East, and what he described as the “depletion” of Patriot missiles and other munitions needed to deter Russia and China. Noting that China’s president wants his military to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027, he said the U.S. is “in a dangerous window.”
“We’re going to invite aggression by the Chinese, and I think they are counting our magazine depth every day, the number of munitions we have, where our troops are stationed,” Krishnamoorthi said. “And they notice, and that only causes them to consider more seriously potentially moving on Taiwan.”
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