As the United States mobilizes thousands more troops for deployment to the Middle East, we speak with retired U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Wes Bryant, who criticizes the “bloodthirst” of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Bryant led the Pentagon office for civilian harm assessment from 2024 to 2025, before the unit was dissolved under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The “wholly illegal war” has been “carried out recklessly from the start and with little regard for the innocent,” Bryant tells Democracy Now! “Pete Hegseth has already directed the committing of war crimes. And unfortunately, our senior military leadership is bending the knee and carrying out whatever he tells them to do.”
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org.
As the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran enters its 26th day, the Pentagon is deploying up to 3,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East. In addition, 2,500 troops from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit are heading to the region and are expected to arrive later this week. Another 4,500 troops, along with three more ships, are expected to arrive in the coming weeks. This comes as speculation is growing the U.S. might attempt to seize Kharg Island, a key Iranian oil export hub.
The deployments come amid some diplomatic developments. Pakistani officials say Iran has received a 15-point ceasefire proposal from the U.S., but top Iranian officials have denied Trump’s claim that direct negotiations have...
President Donald Trump repeatedly and falsely conflated immigrants with criminals and made inaccurate statements about Memphis during a roundtable event arranged by the White House in which he cla...