ALERT: Hegseth fires TOP general responsible for PLANNING as Trump appears to have NO IDEA who he is

We did get the chance to have a fairly detailed conversation about what the war plan would be if we restarted military operations. You've heard a preview that it would be a short duration plan. I will just say this. Their plan is insane. Whether they believe it, it will work or not, I do not know. Thank you. But the plan that they have developed will lead, in my view, to a prolongment and an escalation of this war that will be devastating for our security interests. We're at insane. Nine months into Donald Trump's deeply unpopular war with Iran, Senator Chris Murphy warns that he was recently briefed on Trump's, quote, insane plans for a fresh round of attacks against Iran. That is after reporting we told you about yesterday in The Wall Street Journal that Donald Trump could launch that escalation against Iran just after next week's midterms. So this is clearly not the right time to be without, I don't know, your top military strategist. For the second time in the last year, but not in the world of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose long-running purge of dozens of the most experienced and seasoned senior military officials continues this week. The Atlantic is reporting that in recent days, quote, the Pentagon's chief planner, Army Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia. was ousted from the joint staff. No explanation was given. No replacement for Sylvia was named. And it is unclear who will take over his responsibilities. The Washington Post adds that Sylvia's abrupt removal has infuriated colleagues who saw him as a battle-tested and thoughtful leader. The Pentagon today, acknowledging the Purple Heart generals firing, came over alleged leaks, something Donald Trump seemed to co-sign. While also making it clear that he doesn't know what's going on or that General Brett Sylvia is a man. Sylvia leaked classified information at the Pentagon. One what? That Lieutenant General Sylvia leaked classified information at the Pentagon. She's got problems. She's going to have big problems. She did. We're very much looking for leakers. And she's going to have big problems. Long-term problems. We're looking for leakers. We're tacking gold on the wall. That's about it. I want to bring in Missy Ryan. She's a staff writer at The Atlantic who covers the Pentagon, who was moderating that discussion with Senator Chris Murphy at the event yesterday. Also joining us, military analyst and retired Army Lieutenant General Mark Hurling. Missy, take us through this flashpoint. So the firing of Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia is significant. He's not the only person at the Pentagon who is responsible for planning the Iran war. The Pentagon has been pushing back against that today, saying that this is happening at CENTCOM. But the truth is, he is a key figure that the planning for. For Iran and any military operation occurs between usually the joint staff. The J5 is the person that that was his job is a key role. The person who is supposed to be in charge of future planning, future operations, they play a key role together with the regional command, in this case, Central Command. In devising military operations that are put forward before the secretary of defense and and the president. So his removal, again, so abruptly without any evidence that there has been any leaking going on is just another bad sign of this, this culture of recrimination among the senior leadership. And look, this is one of the people in the military who has the most deep combat experience. You know, I remember covering the operation in Mosul. And then Colonel Sylvia was one of the people who was responsible of laying the groundwork for the successful campaign in 2016 against the Islamic State. There aren't that many people in the military like that. So he was a really valuable officer to have in there. General Hertling, we rely on Missy's reporting and your expertise to tell us these stories because by culture, by code, and for a whole lot of other reasons, they do not speak for themselves. But another such flashpoint was around the purge of General Donahue. And I wonder, just taken together, each purge like this. To me, would have sort of a ripple or a blast radius of loss for the men and women of the military who serve not just under them, but adjacent to them and next to them and in league with them. And I wonder what this firing does. Well, I'm going to reinforce what Missy just said, because the J-5, it's a letter and a number, is probably the most important three-star general in the military. This is a guy who's not only a strategist, but as Missy says, he coordinates the combatant commander's war plans with the Secretary of Defense and the President. This is a kingmaker job. It is the most important job for for a three-star because they have a view. J5 has a view of the world and a view of the strategies that are being executed and also connection with the combatant commanders. So I'll put it in that importance, Nicole, and it's critically bizarre. That he was the next one to say, we don't need you anymore, especially why they said he did it. And I'll get into that a little bit. There's different reportings on this right now. There's some that say he just was a personality conflict. Others that said, other reports said that it was because of leaking, which is what the president reinforced when he called General Sylvia or implied he was a woman. But the fact of the matter is those aspects are being questioned. One of the things, though, that I'll connect to that is there are polygraph exams going on with senior general officers and admirals in the Pentagon and in other places. Imagine that, Nicole. Imagine you're part of an organization where the CEO comes around and polygraphs key leaders in the organization. The element of trust is lost in that case, and the junior officers in the Pentagon are and are all looking this and saying, Holy smokes, what the heck is going on, and do I belong in this organization which used to rely on trust for all things that we do in the military? It's just abysmal. You mentioned Chris Donahue, C.D. Donahue, a four-star that was pushing back against Hegseth. Now you're talking about an individual that they claim is leaking information who has the secrets of the Pentagon at his fingertips. This is the number one military strategist in the military. And, you know, the excuses that Hegseth and his team are giving on this just don't... And truthfully, I'm skeptical of all of this. And it's not just those two that you're talking about. There have been 80 others. And there are all data points in the different reasons why these individuals specifically seem to have been targeted. Hey, it's Rachel. 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