‘May Be What Gets These Pilots Tortured or Killed’: Retired Gen. Rips Hegseth’s War Rhetoric as ‘Reckless and Outrageous’

(Left: Kevork Djansezian / AP file, Right: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

In a Friday post on X, Ret. Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré ripped Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s “reckless and outrageous” rhetoric amid the Iran war, surmising it “may be what gets these pilots tortured or killed.”

Axios reporter Barak Ravid reported Friday that one of the two U.S. crew members from an F-15 jet shot down over Iran by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air defense system had been rescued by American special operations forces. The search for the second remains ongoing.

“Before the @WhiteHouse tries to whip up more war fever over these downed US fighter pilots in Iran, it’s worth noting that under international law, Iran is entitled to shoot down an American fighter jet and detain the pilots as prisoners of war (POWs), holding them until the end of hostilities,” wrote Honoré on Friday afternoon.

“Which is why @DeptofWar recent ‘no quarter’ rhetoric was so reckless and outrageous, and why it may be what gets these pilots tortured or killed,” he continued, referring to Hegseth’s mid-March promise of “no quarter, no mercy for our enemies.”

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, “no quarter” means “refusing to spare the life of anybody, even of persons manifestly unable to defend themselves or who clearly express their intention to surrender” during wartime.

Honoré went on to mimic the thought process of Iranian leadership as they continue to hear Hegseth’s comments: “Iran: ‘So, you’re announcing to the world that you do not recognize international humanitarian laws of war.'”

“Prayers Up For our Pilots and the Rescue Teams,” he concluded. “We Need A Ceasefire Now! Follow The International Rules of War.”

The retired general’s comments come at an already touchy time for Hegseth, as CNN senior political reporter Aaron Blake shared new, “brutal” polling of the Secretary of War on Friday.

“35% approval, 65% disapproval. That’s -30,” he wrote on X. “76% of independents and 26% of GOP-leaners disapprove.”

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