I realize he speaks mostly theatrically, but when Pete Hegseth says of Iran "We will continue operations until we stop these savages threatening U.S. interests", we need to pay attention to his use of the word "savage".
That word has a long, nasty history in the mouths of US officials. It can mean, and has often meant, this: a people who control resources but who do not put those resources to what are considered "productive" purposes by a would-be colonizer. The indigenous peoples of the North American continent were called savages in this specific sense, which led to "legal" justification for taking their land and other resources from them (obviously they were called this word for many reasons, but this is one of those reasons). Even if he's not aware of it or purposely doing so I think Hegseth is channeling this history when he uses that particular word. I think the tell is that he's suggesting there are "savages" that threaten "US interests", i.e. resources the US claims ownership of.
#US #USPol #USWar #Iran
