OPINION:
As American and Israeli forces continued to pummel Iran during Operation Epic Fury this week, the British Broadcasting Corp. made a peculiar observation about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
It published a story fretting that Mr. Hegseth “brings combative style” to his job as Pentagon chief under President Trump.
Iran is responsible for the deaths of more than 1,000 Americans since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and remains the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Yet our friends across the pond are uncomfortable with some of the language Mr. Hegseth is using.
Yes, really. His language.
With dismay, the BBC highlighted Mr. Hegseth’s assertion that the operation is “crushing the enemy,” which he pointedly referred to as “terrorist cowards.”
“We have only just begun to hunt,” and “We are punching them while they’re down” were two other quotes they found unsettling, as they unfavorably compared Mr. Hegseth to some of his predecessors, whom the BBC found to be “more measured.”
One wonders whether today’s BBC would scold British Prime Minister Winston Churchill for daring to utter his stirring “never surrender” remarks or for calling for “victory at all costs” early in World War II.
It certainly follows that if the media don’t like the way our leaders talk about the military offensive, then they certainly won’t support the actual execution of the operation. It’s not limited to the international press.
Many American news outlets turned to legal “experts” who wrongly declared the military action illegal, even though Mr. Trump had justification far superior to, say, President Obama’s case for his bombing of Libya.
Others didn’t need to turn to outsiders because they had in-house hosts willing to take the side of the terrorist regime over their own United States.
“Donald Trump’s war with Iran is illegal, reckless and wrong,” intoned MS NOW (formerly MSNBC) host Chris Hayes. “We are only on Day 3, and it is already an indelible moral stain on this country.”
Perry Bacon at The New Republic went even further. “A war that makes me ashamed to be an American,” he wrote.
At The Washington Post, Max Boot somehow concluded that America would not benefit from eliminating the ayatollah’s grip on Iran and made sure to pass along some talking points from hostile nations.
“It’s too soon to tell who will win the war between the United States and Iran,” Mr. Boot wrote. “But, at this point, my money would be on Russia and China.”
Most of the time, but not always, these leftist media types include some mumbling about how Iran has been controlled by evil people for decades and how they do deserve to be removed. That, though, invariably leads to a “but,” with their conclusion that they just don’t want the murderous regime removed right now by this particular president.
When stories emerged that a missile had struck a school in Iran, reportedly killing scores of people, including many children, the American media leapt into action and breathlessly reported the suspicion that it was a U.S. weapon. They eagerly relayed casualty figures provided by the Iranian government, which knows how to use Western sympathies against its adversaries.
An investigation into the strike is continuing, but journalists should already know that the U.S. never intentionally targets civilians. They also are aware that uncritically reporting death toll figures provided by Iranian sources risks spreading fabricated or inflated numbers and helps disseminate their propaganda.
Too many reporters don’t care about those things because their only mission is to wage their own wars against Mr. Trump. If it means giving cover to a dangerous dictatorship during an armed conflict with their own country, well, they can live with that.
That even extends to siding against the members of the military themselves — or, at least, against what they eat for dinner.
“Pete Hegseth spent millions on steak, crab legs and lobster,” screamed a headline at Newsweek.
That story, a version of which appeared in most major news outlets, referred to these as “luxury food items” and presented them as if Mr. Hegseth had ordered them for himself from room service or something.
In fact, they were for the soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen who risk their lives to defend the American people. Yes, that includes protecting the very journalists launching these ridiculous criticisms.
Other administrations also have served up surf-and-turf for the troops, but the media never howled with outrage about it until Mr. Trump was in the White House.
The U.S. military is busy decimating an enemy that earned the whipping it is getting, but the media are obsessed with dinner menus, language and painting the U.S. as the villain.
It’s enough to make you think they want us to lose.
• Tim Murtaugh is a Washington Times columnist and founder of Line Drive Public Affairs. He served as a senior adviser on the 2024 Trump campaign and as communications director on the 2020 Trump campaign.
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