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“Hegseth Has Gone Too Far.” The Pentagon Purge Hits General Donahue.

“Hegseth Has Gone Too Far.” The Pentagon Purge Hits General Donahue.

Episode 561 Published 1 month, 2 weeks ago
Description

Plus: Why Trump Needs NATO More Than NATO Needs Trump.

Pete Hegseth has been quietly purging the Pentagon of anyone who might outshine him, contradict him, or threaten his grip on power. This week he came for General Chris Donahue — a West Point graduate, 75th Ranger Regiment veteran, former commander of the military's most elite special missions unit, the architect of the Afghanistan airlift that saved 124,000 allies, and the builder of NATO's Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative against Russia. Paul Rieckhoff is joined by former FBI special agent and national security analyst Christopher O'Leary, who worked alongside Donahue, to explain why this is the purge that finally goes too far.

This is a no-BS briefing on what happens when a Secretary of Defense who talks endlessly about toughness and lethality sidelines the actual prototype of an American warrior — because he's threatened by him. Paul and Chris dig into the loyalty purity tests rotting the senior officer corps, the silence of too many retired generals who go quietly into the night, and the ripple effects on Ukraine, Iran, and a NATO alliance that Mark Rutte is now reduced to flattering with PowerPoint charts in the Oval Office. If you've been wondering when the Angry Middle's national security wing was going to speak up, this is it.

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