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Aug 31, 2026 - World

A series of unprecedented Pentagon leaks stunned onlookers Monday, appearing designed to pull the United States out of a war rather than push it deeper in, breaking with decades of precedent.On Sunday, The Washington Post published a bombshell report that revealed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had been warned by several U.S. military leaders that a prolonged large-scale operation against Iran was “unsustainable,” despite Hegseth’s claims to the contrary. The Post’s report was based on a recent classified assessment and inside sources, suggesting Pentagon officials had leaked the information to the outlet.As argued by conservative commentator Saagar Enjeti, the leaks illustrated how poorly the deeply unpopular U.S. war against Iran had gone during its first six months.“Never in my lifetime have I seen the Pentagon brass desperately leak to keep the US OUT of a war. It is always the opposite to box a President in,” Enjeti wrote Monday in a social media post on X. “Just shows how bad things are.”Andrew Fox, a retired British Army major and military analyst, was equally stunned by the nature of the leaks.“An astonishing leak, and not officially denied, to my knowledge,” Fox wrote Monday in a social media post on X. “A leak like this is unprecedented. Perhaps some US officers do remember the ‘and domestic’ part of their oath.”Others, like foreign policy scholar Arta Moeini, were more taken aback by which forces appeared to be pushing for the United States to continue its war against Iran.“Even the US military wants to pull back from the Middle East. Ironically it's the civilian leadership that keeps us permanently engaged in a region peripheral to our interests,” Moeini wrote Monday in a social media post on X.Never in my lifetime have I seen the Pentagon brass desperately leak to keep the US OUT of a war. It is always the opposite to box a President inJust shows how bad things are https://t.co/gJCxBjBZcU— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) August 31, 2026

Aug 31, 2026 - World

Iran responded to an assault on its Larak Island by targeting US bases in JordanTrump threatens further action as US and Iran exchange fire in new flare-upCoinciding with this week’s G20 meeting, the EU has issued a statement saying it will work with the US and other allied countries to maintain economic pressure against Iran.“The ‌EU welcomes efforts at ensuring that Iran ceases its destabilising activities and engages in peace negotiations with good ‌faith, also through additional economic pressure, including through ​the US-led Operation Economic Outcast,” it said in reference to the pressure strategy the White House describes as “an unprecedented campaign to sever every remaining economic lifeline sustaining” the Islamic republic. Continue reading...

Aug 31, 2026 - World

Washington says it acted after observing Iran was planning to deploy fresh mines in strait of HormuzThe US and Iran have exchanged fire for the first time in a month, with missiles and drones fired at Iranian rocket launchers on an island in the strait of Hormuz, and Iran targeting US military bases in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates in response.The US president, Donald Trump, on Monday threatened further action. The US is trying to prise open Tehran’s grip on shipping going through the strait, which before the war accounted for a fifth of the world’s seaborne energy supply. Washington claimed that Iranian control over the waterway had been loosened by repeated US attacks on Iranian missile launchers and radars. Continue reading...

Aug 31, 2026 - World

Workers thought to be stuck in underground areas at 11 sites after last week’s devastating flash floodsRescue teams are working to reach more than 900 missing hydropower workers, hundreds of whom are feared trapped in the tunnels and underground areas of 12 hydropower projects in Nepal after the devastating flash floods, ​the ⁠country’s disaster ​management authority has said.The death toll from the ⁠unprecedented deluge of ice, rock, mud ​and debris on Wednesday last week has risen to 939 people, with 16 more dead reported in Tibet. More than 4,400 are missing on the two sides of the border. Continue reading...

Aug 31, 2026 - World

A conservative columnist for the Washington Post is not happy with his employer's publishing a weekend bombshell report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing stiff opposition from Pentagon generals as the Iran war drags on.According to the exclusive from the Post’s Alex Horton and Tara Copp, a handful of U.S. military leaders have warned Hegseth that “prolonging large-scale operations against Iran is unsustainable” and puts the military at risk should another threat emerge elsewhere — “including the U.S. homeland.”“Leaders of the U.S. European Command, the U.S. Pacific Command and the U.S. Southern Command, along with the Navy’s top admiral, responded with what is characterized in the SDOB as a ‘non-concur,’ those familiar with the assessment said — meaning they disagree with the secretary’s order to extend their forces but will execute it nevertheless,” the report continued.Marc Thiessen, who joined the Post as a columnist after a stint as a spokesperson for Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) and serving as a speechwriter for President George W. Bush, announced he wants a criminal investigation of Horton and Copps sources -- leaving open whether they should be prosecuted also.On X, he linked to the WaPo announcement of the “exclusive " story and accused, “Whoever leaked this is a traitor and ought to be prosecuted.”That falls in line with Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, who is angling to be the new Army Secretary despite a history of domestic abuse allegations, who issued a statement saying, “publishing highly classified assessments from the Secretary’s orders book is a crime” and “a betrayal of the force.”The Post picked a side and went with the reporters, issuing a statement that reads, in part: “The assertion that such a publication is a crime is both incorrect and irresponsible.”