Newsletters
We need to talk about Pete Hegseth. Seriously.
Will you be watching the livestreamed execution by firing squad of U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan on Dec. 3? Probably not. Although it has not yet been officially confirmed that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will, the chances are good, given his enthusiasm for the bizarre event he himself planned and promoted.
He is nothing if not one of the most colorful members of the current U.S. administration, which might be okay if he weren’t also leading the world’s largest war machine. Mr. Hegseth likes to call himself the “Secretary of War” in the media and in Pentagon marketing materials. But, sadly for him and his supporters, he needs congressional approval for that change, and there is no sign that this will be forthcoming.
On Nov. 5, 2009, Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a military psychiatrist, killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others at Fort Hood in Texas. His own confession stated that he was angered by brutal U.S. military attacks in the Muslim world and inspired by the radical Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.
Hasan’s public execution by firing squad, the first such event held by the military in over 60 years, is scheduled to take place at Fort Hood (now renamed), where his original attack occurred. President Trump signed off on the death sentence following Hegseth's recommendation and both men have claimed that a form of justice will be served by showing the event publicly and that it will be a deterrent to future crimes.
Most legal and media experts have advised against livestreaming this event for many obvious reasons. Critics from all ends of the political spectrum argue that a public broadcast will turn a serious judicial process into a media spectacle. A number of family members of the Fort Hood victims have also spoken out, saying that broadcasting the execution risks turning their personal tragedies into a grotesque form of entertainment.
Even worse, doesn't this vulgar circus atmosphere smell at least faintly of Islamophobia at the highest levels of the current administration? Counterterrorism experts have warned that livestreaming the execution of a self-proclaimed terrorist could turn Hasan into a martyr or a role model for extremist networks or other potential lone-wolf shooters.
Rather than acting as a deterrent, the video footage could actually be used as a recruitment tool by radical groups seeking to portray the U.S. government as overtly brutal or anti-Muslim. Why hand your opponents a ready-made propaganda video?
Apparently, Hegseth’s original proposal caught career officials within Pentagon leadership off guard as well. Many within the military establishment expressed worries that making a firing squad execution a public spectacle would damage the professional image of the armed forces and violate long-standing military norms regarding decorum in judicial proceedings.
Furthermore, many lawyers and civil liberties advocates have raised concerns about the precedent of state-sponsored public executions. They point out that public broadcasts of capital punishment are virtually unheard of in modern Western democracies and resemble practices seen only in some of the worst authoritarian regimes in history.
While the execution date is set and the sentence is expected to be carried out, legal analysts note that Hasan remains entitled to file emergency appeals or challenge the specific method of his execution in federal civilian court.
Where to begin with Pete Hegseth? A memorably peculiar quote from his recent state of the armed forces address gives a sense of the man's character. He says the U.S. military will tolerate:
“No fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors. The ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in, with testosterone testing on top.”
Hegseth first came to the national stage during his decade as a TV host and commentator on Fox News, joining as a regular contributor in 2014. His critics often accused him of using his platform to promote unverified information that influenced White House policy, and condemned his lobbying during Trump's first term to pardon U.S. service members convicted of war crimes. Military leaders argued that this undermined accepted norms of military justice and discipline.
In January 2021, Hegseth was removed from National Guard duty during President Joe Biden’s inauguration after he was flagged as a potential threat over his numerous unusual tattoos. Particular concern was raised regarding a "Deus Vult" tattoo, which is a medieval slogan associated with the Crusades and has been adopted by some far-right and white Christian nationalist groups.
Moreover, opponents during his Senate confirmation hearings pointed out that Hegseth, who holds the military rank of major, has never commanded a unit larger than roughly 200 people, raising doubts about his qualifications to oversee millions of military and civilian personnel.
In 2024, details emerged about a 2017 police investigation into an alleged sexual assault involving Hegseth. He denied the allegations, maintaining that the interaction was fully consensual. However, he also acknowledged paying the woman a confidential settlement to prevent a lawsuit.
All of this would simply be ugly gossip if Mr. Hegseth were merely a right-wing television host. But because he is the civilian leader of the world’s largest military force, the matter becomes far more problematic, especially given the grinding conflict with Iran, a Trump administration military adventure for which there is no obvious end in sight.
Following his appointment as secretary, Hegseth undertook significant leadership changes, removing senior officers and civilian officials or pressuring them to step down. These moves have been characterized as a political purge aimed at replacing experienced, nonpartisan military leaders with his own loyalists, which, critics argue, has affected the conflict with Iran.
His time in the Pentagon has also witnessed intense scrutiny over communication security practices—his infamous Iran-military planning chat group on the Signal app, which included such critical members of the chain of command as his wife and random journalists—and policy directives regarding military culture, prompting pushback from members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.
Most senior U.S. officials seek to be remembered by history as patriots, or significant drivers of policy, or people who steered a complex nation through difficult times. Secretaries of Defense want to be remembered for winning wars, or even successfully avoiding wars.
Secretary Hegseth will be remembered mainly as a punchline, if not much worse.
Moving forward, it can be assumed Mr. Hegseth will be busy picking his own legal defense team to represent him in upcoming Congressional hearings, presumed to be announced soon after the widely predicted Democratic midterm election wins in three weeks' time. Maybe these hearings will also be livestreamed to an eager public?
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
5 min read
