The Pentagon has announced the termination of Lt Gen Jeffrey Kruse, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), just days after a contentious review of American strikes on Iran drew scrutiny from the White House. The decision, made by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, comes alongside the removal of two other senior military leaders, though no specific reasons for these changes have been disclosed as per a Pentagon statement.
Last month, President Donald Trump publicly criticized a leaked report from the DIA, which purportedly concluded that recent attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities had minimally impacted their program timeline—setting it back by merely months. Trump's comments characterized the agency's evaluation as "flat out wrong," refuting claims that Iran's nuclear capabilities were decimated. This friction reflects ongoing tensions between military assessments and White House narratives, particularly observed during Trump's presidency.
During NATO discussions, Hegseth criticized the intelligence behind the DIA report, describing it as based on "low intelligence" and mentioning that the FBI was involved in investigating the leak. The DIA primarily focuses on military intelligence to aid defense operations and is distinctly different from civilian agencies such as the CIA.
The firings have raised alarms among some lawmakers, with US Senator Mark Warner asserting that Kruse's removal indicates Trump's increasing tendency to view intelligence as a "loyalty test" rather than a critical tool for national security. Reports of Trump purging officials who provide analyses that diverge from his views are becoming common; for instance, he recently dismissed Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after an unfavorable employment report, and earlier, he fired General Timothy Haugh from the National Security Agency. Hegseth's track record also includes removing prominent military leaders, signaling a trend of reshuffling within the armed forces as the administration seeks to align military views with its political agenda.
