PETE’S DECIMATION

There’s a pretty clear gap right now between what the Pentagon is saying publicly and what the intelligence actually shows. Speaking from a Pentagon podium on April 8, Pete Hegseth said Iran’s missile program was “functionally destroyed” and its capabilities “depleted and decimated.” That tells me the job is basically done. The war is over. We won.

But the reporting that’s come out since doesn’t line up with that.

Leaked intelligence assessments suggest something more limited. Damage in some areas, but not a knockout. Iran still has functioning systems, still has missiles, still has the ability to hit back. That’s not a win. But it is a tell. This is another clear sign that our Department of War is lying to us on a daily basis. I imagine that Pete calls Trump. Trump says, “We are decimating them and they’re functionally destroyed.” And that’s what Pete reports.

With absolutely no regard for the truth or obvious reality.

And PBS’s own fact check on the administration’s “victory” claims makes the same point from another angle. It’s not even clear the U.S. actually secured the outcomes it said it was fighting for, and key details of what was agreed to are still murky.

Because once you go out and say “decimated,” you’re not just describing what happened. You’re telling the country, and the world at large that the threat is largely handled. That’s the threat that was created by Trump and Netanyahu.

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace notes that Netanyahu has pushed every U.S. president for decades to take a harder line on Iran, including advocating for regime change and military options. Past presidents generally resisted these appeals. Trump did not.

And let’s review the current situation. Iran is now stronger, richer, more influential and closer to having a nuclear weapon than at any other time in history. You could say that Iran has finally graduated into the power that may equal that of other Middle Eastern countries.

And they have Trump to thank for that. The dealmaker. The big cheese.

Iran is still operating. U.S. aircraft have been shot down. Attacks haven’t stopped. The war didn’t end, it paused. As Vance steps in as the level headed fixer, we are all watching to see what happens next. What is the new direction to save the Republicans from further embarrassment from their great leader.

Hegseth’s public commentary has grown increasingly erratic. Trump’s relevance in the national conversation appears to be diminishing. Iran’s capabilities are not “depleted and decimated.” And we are not winning the war. —

04/11/2026 Sources: PBS NewsHour, “Fact-checking Trump and Hegseth’s claims of U.S. ‘victory’ in the Iran war,” April 2026 / Reuters, reporting on intelligence assessments and strike impact, April 2026 / The Washington Post, “Hegseth’s claims about Iran war contradict internal assessments,” April 2026 / The Daily Beast, “Damning intel leak blows up Pentagon Pete’s ‘depleted and decimated’ claim,” April 2026.

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