The Gaslight War
Hegseth says America is stronger than on day one. The strait is mined-or-maybe-not, the ships are being shot, the bill is already at the pump, and a NATO chancellor is opting for the word Afghanistan.
The Trump administration would like you to know that everything is going beautifully.
The talks with Iran are productive. The president is patient. The deal, when it comes, will be a great deal, because the man making it makes “nothing but great deals,” a phrase Pete Hegseth delivered with the solemnity of a monk guarding a holy relic and the evidentiary support of a timeshare brochure. Iran knows what it needs to do. The United States is stronger now than it was on day one. The Strait of Hormuz will be open. The blockade is working. The stockpiles are fine. The allies are reassured. The drones are coming. The submarines are coming. The missiles are coming. The factories are coming. The “War Department,” a name that still has all the legal standing of a child declaring the couch a pirate ship, is ready if diplomacy fails.
That is the war as Hegseth sold it to reporters in Singapore.
The war as the rest of the world is watching it looks somewhat different.
