Pete Hegseth’s Dangerous Assault on Accountability

The defense secretary has gutted a program designed to safeguard civilians, and we’ve seen the tragic results. Turn any article into a podcast. Upgrade now to start listening. Members can share articles with friends & family to bypass the paywall. Five years ago, three days after the Abbey Gate bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members amid the evacuation from Afghanistan, U.S. forces conducted a strike that killed 10 Afghan civilians, including seven children. The strike came after most of the intelligence collection assets that had facilitated operations throughout the 20-year war had been withdrawn. Mike Nelson is a retired Army Special Forces officer and a member of the Atlantic Council’s Counterterrorism Project. He is formerly of the Institute for the Study of War and the National Security Institute. You can find him on x.com at @mikenelson586. More We Think You’d Like