Purge continues in US military as defence intelligence head shown the door

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse (left), seen here testifying at a Senate hearing in March 2024, has been removed as head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency. — AFP pic

WASHINGTON, Aug 23 — The head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and two other senior officers are being removed, officials said Friday – the latest in a series of military firings this year.

The removal of Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse, who led the DIA since early 2024, comes after the agency produced a preliminary assessment that said US strikes on Iran set back Tehran’s nuclear program by just a few months.

The assessment – which was widely reported on by US media – contradicted claims from President Donald Trump that the strikes totally destroyed the nuclear sites, drawing the ire of both him and officials within his administration.

Kruse “will no longer serve as DIA director,” a senior defense official said on condition of anonymity, without providing an explanation for the general’s departure.

Prior to becoming director of the DIA, Kruse served as the advisor for military affairs for the director of national intelligence, and also held positions including director of intelligence for the coalition against the Islamic State jihadist group.

A US official separately said on condition of anonymity that two other senior officers – Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore, chief of Navy Reserve, and Rear Admiral Milton Sands, commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command – were also leaving their positions.

Series of top officers fired 

In June, the United States launched a massive operation against three Iranian nuclear sites, an effort that involved more than 125 US aircraft as well as a guided missile submarine.

Trump called the strikes a “spectacular military success” and repeatedly said they “obliterated” the nuclear sites, but the DIA’s preliminary assessment raised doubts about the president’s claims.

The Trump administration responded with an offensive against the media, insisting the operation was a total success and berating journalists for reporting on the assessment.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted the assessment was “leaked because someone had an agenda to try to muddy the waters and make it look like this historic strike wasn’t successful,” and slammed “fawning coverage of a preliminary assessment.”

Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has overseen a purge of top military officers, including chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff general Charles “CQ” Brown, whom he fired without explanation in February.

Other senior officers dismissed this year include the heads of the Navy and Coast Guard, the general who headed the National Security Agency, the vice chief of staff of the Air Force, a Navy admiral assigned to NATO, and three top military lawyers.

The chief of staff of the Air Force also recently announced his retirement without explanation just two years into a four-year term.

Hegseth has insisted the president is simply choosing the leaders he wants, but Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about the potential politicization of the traditionally neutral US military.

Earlier this year, the Pentagon chief additionally ordered at least a 20 per cent reduction in the number of active-duty four-star generals and admirals in the US military, as well as a 10 per cent cut in the overall number of general and flag officers. — AFP