Democrats and the mainstream media are trying to cement the narrative that the United States' strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities were a failure. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth challenged the media earlier at the NATO Summit, saying if they want evidence that the bombing runs were a success, they'd "better get a big shovel and go really deep." These weren't surface strikes; they were bunker busters.

As Doug Powers reported earlier, "Fusion" Natasha Betrand, one of the great minds behind the Hunter Biden laptop story, reported that U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program, and that the Associated Press and ABC News had just confirmed CNN's story.

The recent reports are attributed to an anonymous leak, and Hegseth said the Defense Department is working with the FBI to find out who leaked the story.

… overwhelming success.

It's pretty sad that Democrats/the legacy media want so badly for Operation Midnight Hammer to have been a failure.

Here's a very long but profound response by InfantryDort:

The post continues:

… crossed into something else entirely.

You have endangered lives. You have compromised missions. You have shattered trust. And for what? A headline? A whisper campaign? A cheap thrill?

You have awakened the hammer that guards the line.

I remember administrations I didn’t agree with. Presidents. SECDEFs. I didn’t spit on the chain of command. I didn’t undermine the republic I swore to defend. But you have. And you will be held to account.

Elvis Presley said:

“You may run on for a long time…”

But not this time. Because your offense changed the moment you pierced the shield. And now the sword is coming.

If I were advising the Secretary of Defense, my counsel would be this:

Make an example. One that echoes. One that lives in the memory of this institution.

To those still playing your little games in the corridors of power:

Your clearance won’t save you.

Your rank won’t protect you.

Your proximity to influence will only make your fall more visible.

You will be purged from the institution, either by justice or by your own disgrace.

This is no longer a time for silence. It is a time for fire. And thanks to your betrayal, it is already lit.

The post continues:

… Left to do our duty with quiet precision, outward facing, unified, confident that we were surrounded by those loyal to the same cause.

But there is an enemy within.

Now we must turn inward, just to uproot the treachery that prevents us from doing the job we swore to do.

They task us, and we shall have them. No retreat. No surrender. I will personally chase them through perdition’s flame itself until the last traitor is named.

Disagreement is not disloyalty. But undermining? That is treason in slow motion. And I am done giving warnings.

I am now on the hunt.

And I implore every one of you to hunt with me. Report clear violations to the chain of command and your security POC. Ensure you keep a record of it. 

I may be one man. But there are many who listen. And they too are fed up. Our President and Secretary of Defense have done everything in their power to restore clarity to this military’s mission. To give it purpose.

And those who oppose them do not do so passively. They undermine openly, viciously, with venom I have never seen in all my years of service.

Do you know why that enrages me?

Because I never did that. Not once. I disagreed. But I never sabotaged.

This double standard…. this two-faced rot… makes me sick with a fury I can scarcely contain.

All because they want the old order back.

They will not stop if they remove a President. They will not stop if they remove a Secretary of Defense. There are not enough heads you could offer to satisfy their hunger for control.

You cannot live in harmony with weeds. You must uproot them.

I believe this to the depths of my soul. I have lived a life trying to be reasonable. But now? I am no longer reasonable. Not with disloyalty or betrayal. Not with those who would see this republic fall from within.

They have awakened something ancient. And the bill for their treachery has come due.

These words are harsh for a reason.  This isn’t a game. And anyone within earshot will do well to remember that.

Political neutrality in uniform is not passive anymore. Balance requires action. If the pendulum is to return, someone must pull it. You cannot correct a tilt by standing still, you must lean into the force that restores order.

So lean in.

One anonymous source tells a story to Bertrand, and then the New York Times and the AP and the rest all point to each other's coverage as confirmation that the story is true.