CENTCOM debuts "Inside CENTCOM" podcast as Hegseth and Cooper face blame for Iran war

Mixed · 2On Thursday 5 November, US Central Command (CENTCOM) debuted a podcast called "Inside CENTCOM" on YouTube. 1 2 Left · 1According to its YouTube description, the show is meant "to introduce the incredible warfighters that make up thousands of troops protecting America forward in the Middle East", and comments on the video are turned off. 1 Left · 1Fleet Master Chief Lateef Compton, the command's top enlisted service member, hosts it, and CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper was the premiere guest. 1

Left · 1Raw Story, citing The Daily Beast, says the roughly 12-minute episode covered staying in shape, shooting hoops aboard ships and galley food, with little about the war, on a set styled after "Between Two Ferns". 1 Right · 1The New York Post quotes Cooper joking, "I never met a French fry I didn’t like", and saying that on retiring "I am going to be a professional free throw shooter". 2 Left · 1Cooper also said "no one could have imagined the trajectory of events that we would be on", while praising the team's work. 1

Left · 1Raw Story reports that Hegseth has not held a formal Pentagon briefing since May 5 and Cooper last briefed reporters on May 4, with the war now past its eighth month. Washington Times Pentagon reporter Mike Glenn replied on X that "A press conference with the admiral would also be much appreciated." 1 Left · 1The launch followed Republican losses in Tuesday's midterms. Raw Story says Trump has reportedly considered pushing out his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, to avoid blame for the war, which Trump and Vice President JD Vance both cited as a key reason for the Democratic gains. 1 Right · 1The New York Post says both Cooper and Hegseth are possible fall guys, though the blame within the administration has focused mostly on Hegseth. An administration source told the Post that Trump has "gone negative" on Hegseth for overpromising a quick victory. 2

Right · 1Sources gave the Post conflicting views of Cooper: a source close to the White House called Cooper "awful" and a "total neocon", while a Pentagon source said the war had been fought as Obama would have fought it, citing Cooper's earlier work on the "Joining Forces" military family program. 2 Right · 1Hegseth's top spokesman, Sean Parnell, said Wednesday that Hegseth intends to stay through the end of Trump's term. In a video posted to X on Thursday, Hegseth said: "They attack me, they attack us, because we are effective." 2 Right · 1The Post adds that, if Hegseth stays, impeachment by the Democratic-controlled House is likely, and that two former Pentagon-employed influencers tweeted that Hegseth should run for president in 2028 against Vance. 2

Right · 1On diplomacy, the Post reports that Iran is reviewing US-backed proposals on its nuclear program, with Qatar mediating at least three meetings in the past week. Reuters reported Iran returned a copy of one proposal via Qatari mediators. 2 Right · 1Trump told reporters, "I would rather not destroy the rest of the country if possible, but maybe I’ll have to. You’ll know soon enough." An earlier June memorandum of understanding between Trump and Vance and Iran collapsed over Strait of Hormuz shipping routes. 2 Mixed · 2CENTCOM did not immediately reply to The Daily Beast's questions, and the Pentagon and CENTCOM press offices did not immediately comment to the Post on the in-fighting. 1 2