CNN's John Berman highlighted a major question about the Iran war that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth steered clear of addressing.
Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, provided an update Tuesday morning about Operation Epic Fury, but the defense secretary refused to address a definitive timeline for the conflict.
"I will say the mainheadline that I took away fromthat is that Secretary Hegsethdid not want to put any timelineon an end here," Berman said. "President Trumpwho has been saying it is verynearly complete this mission.Secretary Hegseth did not goanywhere near that, except to saythat it's for the president todecide when it ends, and itwon't be endless, this conflictwith Iran."
His colleague Zach Cohen agreed, and he noticed that Hegseth failed to offer any new information about the bombing of a school that killed at least 175 people, most of them children.
"Like you, Inoticed how Hegseth walked afine line, declining to reallyput a time frame or a timelineon U.S. military operations," Cohen said. "Iranbut also trying to emphasizethat there will be no halfmeasures and that essentially itwon't stop until the enemy istotally defeated. So not goingoutright and contradicting whatthe president said yesterday,but trying to reassert that themilitary plans to continuehitting its targets until President Donald Trump decidesthat the war is effectivelyover, and as you mentioned, Donald Trump saying yesterday,the war could be over in thecoming days sooner than heexpected."
"I noticed Hegseth declining toreally get into the specifics ofthe investigation into thatstrike against the school thatkilled over 100 children," Cohen added. "Itappears again, the presidentsaying yesterday that suggesting that Iran has the kind ofmissile that hit the school,when in reality the U.S. is theonly country in this conflictusing Tomahawk missiles."