Sean Parnell
Role at the time: Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs and chief Pentagon spokesman
Response to this claim
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the drone that struck Port Shuaiba was a "squirter" that made its way through U.S. air defenses and hit a tactical operations center that "was fortified."
“Every possible measure has been taken to safeguard our troops — at every level. The Department is prepared for this engagement and has hardened our defenses.”
Post on X by Sean Parnell, the Pentagon's chief spokesman, quoting the opening of a CBS News article that described the struck building as a makeshift office space.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The reference point is whether the military failed the soldiers at Port Shuaiba in protecting them or in caring for the wounded. Parnell disputes CBS's description of the building, and he also argues that every possible measure was taken to safeguard the troops and that the facility was fortified, which defends the protection itself. The closest competing label is Challenged the characterization; it loses because he goes beyond disputing a label and asserts that the protection was adequate. Evidence: the original post on X.