The Pentagon has fired US Air Force Lt Gen. Jeffrey Kruse from the position of the Chief of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) on August 22, the New York Times reported, citing a senior defence official and a US senator.
According to the New York Times, the removal comes weeks after the US defence agency produced a preliminary report that contradicted US President Donald Trump’s claim that US strikes in June had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Lt Gen. Kruse is the latest high-ranking official to be sacked under the second Trump administration and the second senior military intelligence leader to be ousted.
Earlier this year, Gen. Timothy D Haugh, who led the National Security Agency (NSA), was dismissed following criticism from a prominent right-wing figure, the New York Times reported.
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth also fired Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, chief of the Navy Reserve, and Rear Adm. Jamie Sands, who oversaw Naval Special Warfare Command, the New York Times reported, citing a US Department of Defence official. However, the Pentagon have not provided any official explanation for their removals.
Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, voiced serious concern over Kruse’s firing, calling it indicative of the Trump administration’s tendency to treat intelligence as a loyalty test.
