US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asserted today that the military established “maximum defensive posture” measures in the Middle East prior to the war with Iran starting in late February, but refrained from providing specific information on the defenses in Kuwait where six US soldiers died in an Iranian drone strike.
Democratic Rep. Patrick Ryan questioned Hegseth about the defenses that were in place at the Shuaiba port in Kuwait, where six Army Reserve soldiers lost their lives on March 1 during an attack on a temporary operations center. Xenix News has earlier stated that the operations center lacked protection against aerial threats such as drones or missiles.
Patrick read reports from Xenix News in which survivors of the assault stated that adequate air defense was not in place at the location in Kuwait, despite their requests.
“Secretary Hegseth, that clearly contradicts what you stated from the Pentagon podium the following day.” “Are you implying that these soldiers, our soldiers, who endured this terrifying assault, are not telling the truth?” Patrick stated.
“Prior to the initiation of the conflict, we established the strongest defensive stance possible, we deployed … 7,500 troops from the X according to the intelligence,” Hegseth noted.
“There’s a broader scenario involved that featured combined air defenses, shelters, relocating individuals from the area to guarantee they weren’t included in the target,” Hegseth added. “We relocated those forces and throughout the theater, thousands of troops were removed from the X and their bases because we anticipated Iran’s intentions to attack, aware there might be a critical incident where something could penetrate.” “Certainly, that’s the result of disagreement.”
When Democratic Rep. Chris Deluzio pressed Hegseth later about Pentagon officials’ comments rejecting assertions that the Kuwait port was insufficiently defended, Hegseth called the questioning “disparaging.”
“I’m not accusing our soldiers of dishonesty, and I’m uncertain if your representation is accurate or not,” he stated. “I’ll trust you on that, but all I can say is we exerted every effort at the start of this campaign to secure the defense of our forces.”
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