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https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/03/11/pete-hegseth-the-embodiment-of-trump-s-war-in-iran_6751345_4.html
Pete Hegseth, the embodiment of Trump's war in Iran
4 min read
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"Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle." No one was surprised on Tuesday, March 10, when Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth quoted the Book of Psalms at the end of his opening remarks to journalists. This was the third joint press conference with the chief of the General Staff, General Dan Caine, about the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran. Listening to Hegseth, it seemed the English language lacked superlatives powerful enough to describe how the enemy was being crushed.
The contrast between the two men was striking. Caine appeared calm, courteous and factual, never indulging in overstatement. He found the right words to speak about fallen soldiers and acknowledged Iranian resistance. Next to him, Hegseth, 45, seemed agitated and belligerent, mixing partisan controversy with attempts to explain a war that a majority of Americans opposed. "Joe Biden didn't even know what he was doing," he said on March 2, after explaining that Donald Trump had "all the latitude in the world" to decide the timing of combat operations. "No stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy building exercise, no politically correct wars," he summarized. "We fight to