When the top US general spoke Tuesday of his "respect" for Iranian fighters, the remark underscored a striking divide between the restrained language of the military brass and the swaggering rhetoric used by President Donald Trump and his administration.
From Trump joking that it was "more fun" to sink Iranian warships than capture them, to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasting that US forces were "punching them while they're down," critics say the administration's messaging -- reveling in the destructive power of the US military -- has been jarring.
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