Juxtapose This

It's not hard to see who benefits from reviving the Hegseth-Signal scandal at this particular moment

We do a little juxtaposition. It’s called, we do a little juxtaposition.

“Juxtaposition”, noun: The act of placing two or more things side by side, often to compare or contrast them. Or, indeed, to suggest they might be connected with each other causally somehow.

When Cornelius Tacitus chose to describe Nero playing his harp—not a fiddle—in his gardens while Rome burned, the great historian was obviously implying Nero was more than just an observer of the conflagration.

After all, what kind of ruler plays a musical instrument and sings about the destruction of ancient Troy while his own capital city, the most magnificent in the known world, is burning to ashes around him?

It would be like, oh, I don’t know—being California state governor and setting up a website to prove you weren’t responsible for cutting hundreds of millions of dollars from fire services while half of Los Angeles is in flames. That suggests a certain level of self-concern and, dare I say it, guilt, right?

Gavin Newsom actually did that, by the way.

Anyway: juxtaposition. Two things side by side.

Here are two things that happened this week. I just want to place them next to each other for a moment. The implication, obviously, is that they could be connected. But just try to withhold judgment until you’ve read and digested both of them.

And they may not be connected, like Nero may not have been responsible for the Great Fire of Rome, however bizarre his behavior was during it. My two events could just be a coincidence—one that’s mighty convenient for certain parties, all the same.

Okay, so here’s the first. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is in big trouble for his use of the encrypted messaging app Signal. Again.

Over the weekend another story broke, in The New York Times, that Hegseth “shared detailed information about forthcoming strikes in Yemen in a private Signal group chat group that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer.”

Unnamed sources told The Times Hegseth created the group in January, before he was confirmed.

In response to the allegations, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman Sean Parnell said “disgruntled former employees” were responsible for the claims.

On X, he said the reports “relied only on the words of people who were fired this week and appear to have a motive to sabotage” President Trump’s wide-ranging agenda at the Pentagon.

“There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story,” Parnell added.

“What is true is that the Office of the Secretary of Defense is continuing to become stronger and more efficient in executing President Trump’s agenda.”

The revelations came at the end of a difficult week for the embattled Defense Secretary, as three top officials at the Pentagon were forced out of their jobs. Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick were all fired after being linked by an internal investigation to “unauthorized disclosures” of sensitive information. The three men have protested their innocence.

Former Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot also chose the weekend to launch a blistering personal attack in Politico. The man who just a few months ago described the Defense Secretary as “the best choice to reform the Pentagon,” is now hitting him with both barrels for presiding over a “full-blown meltdown” at the world’s most famous five-sided building. Hegseth’s tenure is becoming a “real problem for the administration,” Ullyot said—the implication being, of course, that he needs to resign.

So that’s the first thing: fresh trouble for Pete at the Pentagon. Now here’s the second.

Earlier last week, on Monday, President Trump decided against joint US-Israel military strikes to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities.

After a tense meeting in the Situation Room, the anti-war party, which argued that a diplomatic solution is not only preferable but still possible, won out. Among the stalwarts of this position were Vice President JD Vance, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, special envoy Steve Witkoff and— Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

President Trump reaffirmed his sensible conviction that Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

“President Trump has been clear, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and all options remain on the table. The President has authorized direct and indirect discussions with Iran to make this point clear, but he's also made clear this cannot go on indefinitely,” White House national security council spokesperson Brian Hughes told Axios.

So: Military strikes could still happen, but for the moment, at least, diplomacy has prevailed. The President has given Iran two months to sign a new nuclear deal. Israel, however, has suggested it may carry out strikes unilaterally.

I think you know what I’m driving at with this juxtaposition. You already know that war with Iran, leading to regime-change, has been a long-term policy goal of certain bloodthirsty segments of the US establishment for decades. It was the jewel in the crown of the Bush neocon vision for the future of the Middle East, and it remains the treasured dream of lawmakers like Lindsey Graham and Tom Cotton, as well as an entire industry of lobbying groups like the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. And Israel, too.

Let’s be clear: If Hegseth goes—and there are now a great many loud voices calling for his resignation, Two strikes and you’re out— a significant barrier to joint military action against Iran will have been removed.

Indeed, there’s a good chance Hegseth will be replaced by an Iran hawk who’ll actively push for conflict. Back in December, when Hegseth’s personal life was looking like it might derail his confirmation, Mike Waltz was considered as an alternative. Last week, in the Situation Room, it was Waltz arguing for military strikes alongside Marco Rubio.

Like I say, these two events may not actually be connected. Hegseth’s problems at the Pentagon are ongoing, and it may simply be, as Sean Parnell said, that “disgruntled employees” are responsible for the latest claims against the Defense Secretary, true or not. Hegseth has turned the place upside down already in his quest to restore America’s warfighting capability, an enterprise that was bound to make him a lot of enemies even if he didn’t challenge the infinity-war demons as directly as he has.

In truth, it doesn’t really matter if there’s a connection between these two events. All that matters, at this point, is the outcome: Lose Hegseth and war with Iran, with all its terrible potentials, becomes a much greater possibility. That makes supporting him, and ensuring he stays in the job, all the more urgent for patriots who care about a true America First foreign policy.