Benita Zahn

Pete Hegseth announced that the Department of Defense would publicly execute Nidal Hasan and live stream the execution. There is no doubt that Nidal Hasan is a murderer who took the lives of 13 people and injured dozens. He should face justice for that. But a public execution? Here in the United States? It’s the kind of thing Iran and the Taliban do. Is this who we want to be associated with? Pete Hegseth’s campaign of “maximum lethality” and his comments about “killing people” and now his desire to publicly execute a prisoner indicate to me that his expiration date in this job has long passed. He should be removed immediately. And this administration needs to reevaluate its priorities. How about they trade glorifying violence for solving some problems and delivering for the American people? We need to be reminded of the nation we can be at our best. As President Ronald Reagan said “compassion, vision, and a fundamental sense of decency are the hallmarks of our national character.” That is not what we’ve seen from this President and his administration. We need to find that again.