General Brett Sylvia was sacked as the US military is preparing for possible resumption of mass bombings of Iran<\/p>\n
The Pentagon has fired its top military strategist as Washington draws up contingency plans for a possible escalation of hostilities with Iran.
\nArmy Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia has been removed from his position as director for strategy, plans, and policy (J5) on the Joint Staff, a spokesman confirmed late Wednesday, following media reports of his dismissal.
\nHis predecessor, Lt. Gen. Joseph McGee, was forced into retirement a year ago amid reported friction with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. Sylvia previously served as vice director of the J5.
\nThe Pentagon did not explain Sylvia\u2019s departure. His responsibilities included developing military strategies and plans to advise the chairman and the US president. He joins nearly two dozen senior military and civilian officials removed during Hegseth\u2019s tenure.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
US tells Gulf allies to brace for \u2018intense\u2019 war with Iran \u2013 WSJ<\/p>\n
The secretary has portrayed the dismissals as part of an effort to reduce the military\u2019s bloated ranks of generals and make the armed forces more efficient and lethal. Critics, however, have characterized the shake-up as an ideological \u201cpurge.\u201d
\nPresident Donald Trump has repeatedly raised the possibility of renewing large-scale hostilities with Iran, including resuming the intensive bombing campaign conducted during the first 40 days of the conflict, which the US and Israel launched in late February. A potential escalation could be timed around the November midterm elections.
\nMilitary experts have widely expressed concern that another bombing campaign would fail to \u201cfinish the job,\u201d as Trump has put it, while further increasing the conflict\u2019s economic toll worldwide. Tehran has repeatedly warned that it is prepared to retaliate against US allies in the Gulf region if it faces renewed attacks.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Pentagon cracks down on insider betting \u2013 AP<\/p>\n
Conversely, speculation has emerged that Trump could dismiss Hegseth after the midterms, when the opposition Democratic Party is expected to make gains in both chambers of Congress. Critics of the Iran war, including Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, have argued that firing the secretary could help Trump avoid a potential impeachment battle if Democrats take control of the House.
\nTrump\u2019s public rhetoric remains supportive of Hegseth and his policies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
General Brett Sylvia was sacked as the US military is preparing for possible resumption of mass bombings of Iran The Pentagon has fired its top military strategist as Washington draws…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t