{"text":[[{"start":5.42,"text":"America is at war, mired in a misbegotten conflict with Iran. Yet last week, after reportedly warning President Donald Trump that his defence secretary Pete Hegseth was inflicting “generational damage” on the US military, the secretary of the army Dan Driscoll resigned. Though temporary replacements are in place, Driscoll’s departure leaves the US without a Senate-confirmed army secretary, army chief of staff, commander of US army forces in Europe or navy secretary — even as the Iran conflict tests the limits of US military resources. US adversaries must surely be celebrating the continued tenure of one of the least suitable defence secretaries in modern American history."}],[{"start":44.6,"text":"Driscoll’s departure was expected after months of tensions with Hegseth. But his resignation — it was not a sacking — should be taken seriously. The 40-year-old Iraq war veteran is no “deep-state” troublemaker. He has strong Maga credentials and is a close friend of vice-president JD Vance. His exit amounts to an indictment of the Hegseth regime from within the Maga world."}],[{"start":66.36,"text":"The immediate spur appears to be the defence secretary’s systematic purge of experienced professional military top brass, especially those ready to stand up to Hegseth. The Pentagon chief has driven out two dozen generals and admirals throughout the military, through firings or forced removals. He has also blocked dozens of promotions."}],[{"start":85.76,"text":"The firings include, in April, General Randy George, the army chief of staff who was Driscoll’s main ally in efforts to modernise the army by revamping procurement and shifting to technologies including drones and AI, informed by the Ukraine and Iran conflicts."}],[{"start":101.32,"text":"The broader context for Driscoll’s exit is the rapid depletion of munitions due to the Iran conflict and growing concerns about military supply chain capacity. The Iran operations have consumed an estimated two-thirds of the prewar US inventory of Patriot interceptors — degrading US strategic readiness as well as putting strains on Nato forces in Europe and increasing Ukraine’s vulnerability to Russian attack."}],[{"start":125.68,"text":"Several members of the US military top brass reportedly warned Hegseth last month that prolonging large-scale operations against Iran was unsustainable and could weaken the US ability to confront threats elsewhere. Trump’s insistence in maintaining all military options open in Iran has kept more than 50,000 troops on alert for months."}],[{"start":147,"text":"A symbol of the strain on resources is the fact that America now has no carrier strike group in the Asia-Pacific — a stunning breakdown of logistics management for an administration that said it would prioritise that region. The Japan-based USS George Washington was diverted to the Middle East in August to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln — which has just docked in Thailand after a more than nine-month stint at sea that far exceeded standard deployment limits."}],[{"start":175.04,"text":"The Pentagon has rejected claims of debilitating weapons shortages and called suggestions that it is in disarray “completely baseless”. It insists it is continuing reforms aimed at ending bureaucratic inertia and restoring strict civilian control. Yet Driscoll’s departure raises questions about the future of the broader modernisation he was overseeing, and whether Hegseth’s desire for centralised control is now undermining the technological transformation he originally commissioned. The defence secretary has emphasised his back-to-basics approach, focused on discipline, fitness and promotion of a manly “warrior ethos”."}],[{"start":213.44,"text":"Given Hegseth’s own apparent political ambitions, that approach seems designed, too, to chime with Trump’s own vision for the military. The president, like Hegseth, prizes loyalty and obedience over experience. The longer this continues, however, the more America’s military readiness may be called into question."}],[{"start":232.58,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1788761388_9748.mp3"}