Jon Ossoff makes Pete Hegseth SWEAT during hearing on Trump’s Iran War

[0:00] Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you all for your testimony. [0:04] And General Cain, let me just begin by expressing on behalf of all Georgians [0:08] our immense gratitude and admiration for the service members [0:12] who are making tremendous sacrifices and conducting themselves [0:17] with extraordinary selflessness and professionalism on behalf of the United States [0:20] and our state's unified condolences and grief for the families of the four killed in action [0:27] and our hope for a swift recovery for the nearly 100 wounded over the last two weeks. [0:33] And thank you to you for your service to the nation. [0:36] Mr. Hegseth, you're requesting roughly $68 billion for the department through the supplemental, correct? [0:46] 67, yes. [0:48] And yesterday, your department stated publicly, quote, [0:52] U.S. forces struck Iranian military command centers, maritime capabilities, [0:57] missile and drone launch sites, and air defense systems to degrade Iran's ability [1:03] to continue attacking commercial vessels. [1:05] That was a press release from your department. [1:08] Is that a broadly accurate characterization of ongoing operations? [1:12] That sounds broadly accurate, yes. [1:15] On day 14 of this conflict, Mr. Secretary, day 14, nearly five months ago, [1:20] you stated that Iran's military had been, quote, destroyed and, quote, [1:24] made combat ineffective. [1:26] That was on day 14 of the war. [1:28] Was that an accurate statement? [1:31] They didn't have a navy any longer. [1:33] It was completely sunk. [1:34] Their missiles were buried underneath a lot of their underground facilities [1:37] and their defense industrial base has been almost completely destroyed. [1:41] So as far as a military assessment of Iran's capabilities, [1:44] it didn't mean by any stretch of the imagination absolute zero. [1:48] Mr. Secretary, you stated that on day 14 of this conflict, [1:52] in the second week of the conflict, you stated that Iran's military [1:56] had been, quote, destroyed and, quote, made combat ineffective. [2:01] Was that an accurate statement? [2:03] Yes or no? [2:04] Iran's ability to challenge the United States of America [2:07] at the level at which we're capable of. [2:09] That's not what I asked you, Mr. Secretary. [2:10] You said on day 14 Iran's military had been, quote, destroyed [2:14] and, quote, made combat ineffective. [2:18] Yes or no? [2:19] Was that an accurate statement? [2:21] What the American military has done to the United States of America? [2:23] What they've done to the Iranian military is a historic military defeat. [2:26] Will you answer the question, under oath? [2:27] And they're ineffective in that context. [2:29] Three weeks later, you declared victory. [2:32] That was now nearly four months ago. [2:36] Three weeks after you'd already said Iran's military was destroyed [2:40] and combat ineffective, you said, quote, [2:43] Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory. [2:46] You said Iran's military had been rendered, quote, [2:49] combat ineffective for years to come. [2:52] And you stated we had, quote, achieved every single objective. [2:56] Were those accurate statements? [2:59] It certainly was, on behalf of the men and women in uniform, [3:01] a historic military victory over Iran. [3:04] Had Iran's military been rendered, quote, [3:07] combat ineffective for years to come? [3:09] That was a statement that you made four months ago. [3:11] They had 160 naval vessels in the Blue Water Navy, and they're gone. [3:15] Their air force is completely combat ineffective, [3:18] and they don't have a defense industrial base. [3:20] So describe to me a country that doesn't have an air force, [3:22] a navy, or a defense industrial base, [3:24] and I will describe to you a country that does not have an effective military. [3:27] It can lob missiles. [3:29] Mr. Secretary, you stated four months ago [3:32] that Iran's military had been rendered, quote, [3:35] combat ineffective for years to come. [3:39] Has Iran's military been, for the last four months, combat ineffective? [3:43] It's been set back not just years, but likely decades, [3:46] considering it can't build at the level it did before and not even close. [3:49] It doesn't mean it doesn't have capabilities. [3:51] Mr. Secretary, you stated we had, quote, [3:53] achieved every single objective. [3:56] Was that an accurate statement four months ago? [3:58] The main objective of this was to ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. [4:02] Their main sites were obliterated. [4:04] We're watching over them, and we're holding that issue. [4:06] If they don't give them up at the table, there's other ways we can take them away. [4:09] Early in the conflict on day three, Mr. Secretary, [4:12] early in the conflict, day three, [4:13] you said one of those core objectives was to, quote, [4:16] destroy the missile threat, and as you restated on day five, [4:19] to, quote, obliterate Iran's missiles and drones. [4:23] Those were clearly and repeatedly stated core objectives of the campaign, [4:27] which four months ago you declared had been completed victoriously [4:31] with every single objective achieved. [4:33] Were those objectives achieved four months ago? [4:37] No one ever stated that every single missile was gone. [4:40] Ultimately, combat ineffective means they're not able to dig them out of their UGFs [4:43] and shoot at us. [4:44] Had the missile threat been defeated four months ago. [4:44] It doesn't mean they don't have underground facilities where they put missiles in them [4:48] and hold on to them because they're the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism. [4:51] So we never expected they would stop having capabilities to shoot. [4:54] The question is at scale against an opponent like the United States of America, [4:58] which went toe-to-toe with them in Iran, couldn't and cannot handle it. [5:01] You stated on March 8th, day nine of the war on 60 Minutes, [5:05] you assured the American people of Iranians surrender. [5:08] Does that remain your prediction? [5:11] Ultimately, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon to threaten the United States of America. [5:15] That has been the objective, and it remains so. [5:17] So just to review, you will not answer whether your statement made on the 14th day of the war [5:24] that Iran's military had been, quote, destroyed and made combat ineffective [5:28] was a truthful statement to the American people [5:31] as you sit here and ask for tens of billions more for the conflict. [5:34] But a historic and effective military campaign against the largest state sponsor of terrorism [5:39] won't answer the question. [5:40] Senator Peters.