Pete Hegseth falls under scrutiny for 'jaw-dropping' Iran moves: 'How damning'

President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested he was caught off guard by Iran's response to the joint U.S.-Israeli military operation, and that has placed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth under scrutiny.

Sources have said the self-styled "secretary of war" downplayed the risks of Iran shutting down the Strait of Hormuz and launching counterstrikes on its Middle Eastern neighbors, and CNN's Erica Hill asked her panelists on "CNN This Morning" whether Hegseth had failed in his role.

"CNN also had reporting inthe days just before the warthat Gen. [Dan] Caine, [chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff], wasreally in a bit of a balancingact here, right?" Hill said. "Trying to avoidconfrontation with the presidentwhile also laying out, trying tolay out the risks here of thewar. Especially in amoment like this, when U.S.service members are being sentinto a dangerous situation,it's important that thepresident have the full scope ofwhat could happen. This is morereporting that that's nothappening. How damning couldthat be?"

Journalist Margaret Talev agreed that the president should have full awareness of the risks of a military operation, from the best-case scenario to the worst-case scenario, as well as long-term prospects, and she said early indications suggest that Trump was not provided with an in-depth assessment.

"As this goes on,this kind of reporting is goingto be really important,important to help peopleunderstand the conversationthat's going on behind thescenes," said Talev, director of Syracuse University's Institute for Democracy, Journalism & Citizenship. "But I do think there arecertainly leadership on thepresident's side inside thegovernment, including thechairman of the joint chiefs whocan give all of that kind ofguidance and all of that kind ofscenario planning."

Hegseth has also drawn criticism from retired military leaders for his "braggadocious" posturing during updates on Operation Epic Fury, and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona said she was astonished by the disconnect between his chest-beating public performances and seeming dereliction behind the scenes.

"I thinkone of the things that we can'tdo here is extract the politicsfrom this, because Donald Trump is the commander in chief," Cardona said, "and it was jaw-dropping to mewhen he said and has saidseveral times that the reactionby the Iranians was unexpected.It was not unexpected. Therehave been plans, the reportinghas been that there have beenplans for years that this isexactly how Iran would react ifwe did what we did."

"Pete Hegseth and everyonewho was surrounding him from thepolitical standpoint, they'reall 'yes' people, and there is adanger in surrounding yourselfwith 'yes' people," she added. "But we allknow that that's the only thing that Donald Trump accepts, andyou even saw the joint chiefs, you said he was kind of dancingaround and not wanting to saythings very directly to to notoffend Donald Trump. Thatdoesn't do Donald Trump anygood, and importantly, itdoesn't do the American peopleany good. It absolutely takesaway credibility, if Donald Trump had any credibility tobegin with, because the thingsthat he's saying don't trackwith the reality of what we'rehearing in terms of reportingabout the war."

- YouTubeyoutu.be