A Tragedy in Iran Might Persuade Hegseth to Change Course
The Pentagon is considering reversing staff cuts to civilian-harm protection programs following a deadly air strike in Iran that killed nearly 170 people. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who previously prioritized 'lethality' over these protections, faces pressure to restore oversight after reports suggested the cuts may have violated laws.
Why it matters
The situation highlights the tension between military aggression and the legal/ethical requirements for protecting noncombatants in modern warfare.
The Pentagon is rethinking how it wages war after the Iran school strike.
Hassan Ghaedi / Anadolu / Getty July 31, 2026, 7 AM ET Share Save W hen President Trump plucked Pete Hegseth from Fox News to be his secretary of defense, Pentagon officials scrambled to get with their new boss’s pugnacious program: Lethality and battlefield swagger were in; “wokeness” and operational restraint were out. Hegseth’s subsequent purge at the Defense Department included the dramatic downsizing of staff dedicated to avoiding civilian casualties in war. They had been part of a military-wide system built up after tens of thousands of ordinary people were killed during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Congress mandated some of the enhancements. But Hegseth fired or reassigned almost all of the staff working on the program.
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