On Thursday, Hot Air posted an article about the recent firing of a three-star general by Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War. Some of the media is trying to paint this firing as an example of an unqualified Secretary of War, but the facts indicate that this was exactly the right thing to do.
The article quotes a very biased article that appeared in The Atlantic:
Earlier this week, the Pentagon’s chief planner, Army Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia, was ousted from the Joint Staff. No explanation was given. This comes at an inopportune moment, given that President Trump may be planning to relaunch the war on Iran. Sylvia, the former commander of the 101st Airborne Division, becomes the latest in a long line of senior officers who have been shown the door since Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived at the Pentagon almost two years ago.
No replacement for Sylvia was named, and it is unclear who will take over his responsibilities. In the past, the deputy or vice director of the relevant directorate of the Joint Staff would fill the role on a temporary basis until the president nominated a candidate for Senate confirmation. Sylvia is the second person to be pushed out of the job of director of the Directorate for Strategy, Plans, and Policy at the Joint Staff, known inside the military as the J5, in the past year. His predecessor, Army Lieutenant General Joseph McGee, was forced to retire. “Now is not the time when you’d want to lose the J5,” a former Joint Chiefs of Staff official said. “This person would serve as a critical link between the operational force, the department policy, and the White House.”
The article also quotes a CBS News article:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired the Pentagon’s top military planner, several sources confirmed to CBS News late Wednesday.
A Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters, said Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia was accused of misconduct for allegedly leaking classified information related to the Iran war and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Sylvia failed three polygraph tests about sharing classified information with the press, the official said, adding that the case has been referred to the Department of Justice.
Two other Pentagon sources confirmed to CBS News that the firing was related to the polygraph tests, but said those accusations are not true.
Hegseth has made rooting out leakers at the Pentagon a priority, with sources telling CBS News last month that high-ranking military officials were subject to polygraph tests. Three staffers from his office were escorted out last year amid a leak investigation, but the Pentagon never released the results of any investigation.
We used to hang traitors–not just fire them. I can’t say that I am not happy to see this general fired.