This US soldier was part of a crew of about 60 troops stationed at the installation, tasked with managing the movement of equipment, munitions and personnel across the Middle East. We are putting you in shadow, but there's still a risk for you speaking that you could be [00:00:15] identified. Why do you want to take that chance? For me, think telling the truth is important. US soldiers who survived a March 1st Iranian attack against them while they were in Kuwait are blowing the whistle on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the lies he's been telling [00:00:34] the American people and very likely President Donald Trump in regard to how this war is going. In fact, they feel that Pete Hegseth has put them in harm's way and did not prepare them appropriately. before we get to the details and what they're saying, Cenk, your two cents. [00:00:53] Yeah, so first of all, there's a fact in this story that lets you know definitively who's telling the truth and who isn't. And secondly, I want to talk about why Hegseth chose not to defend these soldiers. So Anna, give us the facts. So during his March 2nd press conference, [00:01:11] this attack happened on March 1st. The next day, Pete Hegseth holds a press conference. And he described the Iranian drone attack as a so-called squirter that allegedly squirted, [00:01:28] I'm sorry, it's a serious story, I apologize, squirted through a fortified unit inside Kuwait, let's watch. As it pertains to the US casualties, that particular incident was, have air defenses and the lots coming in and you hit most of it and we absolutely do, we have incredible air [00:01:43] defenders. Every once in a while you might have one, unfortunately, we call it a squirter that makes its way through and in that particular case, it happened to hit. a tactical operation center that was fortified, but um these are powerful weapons. But it turns out that one [00:02:02] of the soldiers who was there when this attack happened and luckily survived, uh says otherwise, okay? So here's the quote that he gave to CBS, painting a picture that one squeaked through is a falsehood. I want people to know the unit was unprepared to provide any defense for itself. [00:02:24] It was not a fortified position. In fact, why don't you hear a little more of the truth in this next clip? What fortifications existed there? I I would put it in the none category. [00:02:40] capability. None, there were no fortifications. None. What you're describing can be very painful for a lot of the families of the fallen heroes, a lot of the families of the injured. I'm very sad for their loss and it's something I'll carry with me for the rest of my life. We moved [00:02:55] closer to Iran to- uh deeply unsafe area that was a known target. So what was the reason that you were told for why you needed to be there? I don't think there was a good reason ever articulated. The attack was Iran's deadliest strike against the US in five weeks of war, [00:03:14] killing six American soldiers and injuring dozens more. Were these deaths preventable? In my opinion, absolutely yes. Now again, this was in Kuwait, there was another attack. against our military in Kuwait that was friendly fire by the Kuwaitis. That's separate. That was [00:03:33] when our jets were shot down by the Kuwaitis. This is an entirely separate incident that took place in Kuwait and uh ended up killing six of our service members. uh And when it comes to fortification, you have to consider what the threats used to be thought of in [00:03:51] the Middle East, right? Things like suicide bombers. But warfare has changed since then. And so when we're talking about a drone strike from up above, these buildings need to be fortified in a completely different way. CBS reports that the hours before the attack, by the way, missile [00:04:07] alarms had indicated to a crew of about 60 troops to basically take cover in like a cement bunker. However, and very sadly, around 9.15 AM, an all clear alert sounded and officers returned to their desks in this like wood and tin. workspace, meaning that it wasn't fortified. And it's [00:04:29] about the width of three trailers. So about 30 minutes later, everything shook when Soldier told CBS News. And it's something like what you see in the movies, your ears are ringing, everything's fuzzy, your vision is blurry, you're dizzy, there's dust and smoke everywhere. [00:04:45] Now, there's been some other reporting to kind of reinforce the notion that Pete Hegseth is, uh well, just not. the job he's doing and he is lying to the American people. But before we get to that, Cenk, your two cents or actually your thoughts. Yeah, so there's a difference [00:05:01] between optics and substance and this is where the rubber hits the road. So Trump picked based on optics, so is he good on TV? So Hexeth goes out there and he's like, we're so masculine and I can do push ups and I don't want anybody with beers or pot belly and yeah, but brother, [00:05:20] that's all. window dressing. When we're going to war, your window dressing isn't gonna help anyone. You need to actually be prepared and experienced and know where to put your troops. Otherwise, you're gonna get them killed, and you did here. So how do you know who's telling [00:05:38] the truth? Well, number one, was it tin and wood in the area that they were staying at? That was the walls of the compounds? Yes. Number two, were they protected from the air? No. Now, how do we know that? Well, the drone easily landed and blew up. six people died, [00:06:01] over 20 terribly injured. And so there's no question that Hegseth is lying when he said it was quote fortified, right? And the troops are very patriotic and they keep talking about how these folks died as heroes, etc. But they were sent on a fool's errand by a guy who has [00:06:21] no idea what he's doing. And Anna, why were they not fortified? Why was there no protection and no uh interceptor missiles in that base? because we were obsessed with protecting Israel. So we were spending almost all of our time, energy and resources protecting a different [00:06:40] country instead of our troops and it's unconscionable. And not only that Cenk, I'm sorry, but Why was Pete Hegseth chosen, nominated, appointed to be defense secretary when his only experience, yeah, he was in the military, I don't really care. ah He has a history of abusive behavior, [00:06:59] alcoholism, and was like a weekend anchor at Fox. But Trump likes the way he looks, so he thinks he's qualified to be defense secretary, which is insane. He is not capable of fulfilling this role. in a way that would protect our troops and make smart decisions. Don't forget, [00:07:18] NobleMobile saving you a ton of money. So a lot of people are signing up now and beginning to realize, what the hell? Why am I paying so much of Verizon and AT &T? So your bill's only $50 a month, but it can actually be less because they give you money back if you don't use your data. So if you're paying more than $50, there's no reason to not switch. It's [00:07:35] crazy not to switch because same phone, same number, same contacts, literally nothing changes. tyt.com slash switch tyt.com. All right, we'll be right back. And it turns out that he has made all sorts of ridiculous boastful assertions that aren't based in reality at all. So US [00:07:53] officials and analysts argue that Hegseth is actually doing damage to the military by making these untrue claims to the public, which include that the US has control over the Iranian skies. Does it look like the US has control over Iranian skies? or that the airspace over uh Iran [00:08:14] is uncontested. Okay, so making matters worse, he's uh not being honest with Trump, okay? So that was something that was percolating in the media just last week. Suzy Wiles was basically telling people in Trump's cabinet, yo, you guys need to be a little more honest with Trump [00:08:32] about how this war is going. And uh one administration official told the Washington Post that Pete is not speaking truth to the President as a result. The President is out there repeating misleading information. Though Hegseth has claimed for weeks that Iran has no air defenses and [00:08:50] could do nothing about US air incursions. Trump acknowledged during his White House news conference Monday that a shoulder fired heat seeking missile downed an S-15 that left two US Airmen temporarily stranded deep inside Iranian territory. Quote, he got lucky, it was a lucky [00:09:11] hit, Trump said. Now we covered that so-called rescue mission on the show. I genuinely think that considering how deep within Iran our service members were, considering that they were in a very mountainous region of Iran. And considering the uh insane number of aircraft and military [00:09:30] assets that were in the area at the time, they weren't there for rescue mission. I think they were there to try to uh get the so-called enriched uranium and that special operation failed. That is my speculation. Because things don't add up and to be quite honest with you guys, [00:09:47] I don't trust anything that's coming out of the Trump administration. They've already been caught in so many lies. Iran also shot down an A-10 attack plane last Friday. Luckily, the pilot survived and made it back to safety. Hegs's analysis also contradicts what General [00:10:04] Dan Cain, who's the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has been saying. He does not believe that the US military can use Iranian airspace without fear of attack. So it is terrifying that our Secretary of Defense is just engaging in magical thinking and lying not just to the [00:10:21] public, but to the President of the United States about what is currently going on. That puts our service members in harm's way. Yeah, so when uh Pete Hegness says we have uncontested control of uh Iranian airspace, well, this facts speak for themselves. So not only was F-15 [00:10:39] knocked down, but another plane was hit as well. Luckily, they got to safety before the pilot ejected in an allied country. And then the operation that Anna's talking about, we lost at least two C-130s and two helicopters. And they say it's because they landed in a [00:11:01] place they couldn't take off from again, maybe, maybe. But it's also possible that yeah, they were going for their enriched uranium and they got shot down. So, I mean, we've lost at least six vehicles over Iranian airspace within the last week doesn't seem uncontested to [00:11:23] me. So yeah, there's no question that the Iranians still have capabilities and Hegseth is lying through his teeth. uh