During a keynote speech that one Pentagon official
speaking on background said represented a preview of the War
Department's forthcoming National Defense Strategy, Secretary of War
Pete Hegseth today outlined four distinct lines of effort for the
department to take, so as to guarantee peace through strength for the
U.S. and its allies in the coming years.
While delivering his remarks at the Ronald Reagan National Library's
annual defense forum in Simi Valley, California, Hegseth underscored
numerous parallels that he believes exist between the military
strategies and policies of presidents Reagan and Donald J. Trump, while
also emphasizing his view on the current president's commitment to
strengthening the U.S. military.
"Make no mistake about it: President Trump is hellbent on maintaining
and accelerating the most powerful military the world has ever seen;
the most powerful, the most lethal and American-made … the Arsenal of
Freedom," Hegseth said.
He added that the War Department is also working to get back to
basics on the topics of restoring the warrior ethos, readiness,
accountability, standards, discipline and lethality.
Hegseth also said that the Trump administration and the War
Department are committed to putting America first and avoiding getting
into seemingly unending foreign entanglements, as well as prioritizing
the nation's security, freedom and prosperity of its citizens.
"We're doing it in a way that leaves not only our nation better off,
but the world. Out with utopian idealism, and in with hard-nosed
realism," he said.
To achieve those goals, Hegseth said it's necessary to prioritize the
aforementioned "four key lines of effort" at the War Department:
defending the U.S. homeland and its hemisphere; deterring China through
strength rather than force; increasing burden sharing between the U.S.
and its allies and partners; and supercharging America's defense
industrial base.
Speaking on the first topic of defending the U.S. homeland and its
citizens, Hegseth said that since Jan. 20 and under Trump's direction,
the War Department has made increasing security at the southern border
and gaining 100% operational control a top priority.
"We did so by surging forces, where our troops partner with [the
Department of Homeland Security] and [U.S Customs and Border Protection]
to seal the border," Hegseth said, adding that the number of illegal
border crossings today is at virtually zero.
He added that the War Department is proud to support law enforcement
in the deportation of dangerous criminals here illegally and that the
War Department and its interagency partners are leaning on the U.S.
Mexican counterparts to do their part to combat illegal immigration and
drug trafficking.
Hegseth also said that the U.S. border should be the last line of
defense rather than the first, and that's why the War Department is
prioritizing combatting narco-terrorist throughout the Western
Hemisphere.
- "These narco-terrorists are the al-Qaida of our hemisphere, and we
are hunting them with the same sophistication and precision that we
hunted al-Qaida," Hegseth said, adding that our allies in the region are
also aiding in combating narco-terrorism.
On the issue of China, Hegseth said that, thanks to the leadership of
President Trump, relations between the U.S. and China are stronger than
they have been in many years.
"President Trump and this administration seek a stable peace, fair
trade and respectful relations," Hegseth said, adding that the War
Department is committed to opening a wider range of military-to-military
communications with China's People's Liberation Army aimed at
de-confliction and de-escalation.
"This line of effort is based on flexible realism … an approach aimed
not at domination, but rather a balance of power ... that will enable
all of us, all countries, to enjoy a decent peace in the Indo-Pacific,
where trade flows openly and fairly, where we can all prosper and all
interests are respected," Hegseth said.
"That's the world that we see in the Indo-Pacific, and that is what our approach is designed to produce," he added.
- On increasing burden sharing with U.S. allies around the world,
Hegseth said that many who have shaped U.S. foreign policy have "lost
the plot" when it comes to treating our allies as if they are incapable
of helping themselves.
"That is, of course, patently ridiculous — not to mention insulting
to our allies," Hegseth said, adding that it's important for America's
allies and partners to step up to do their part for our collective
defense.
- Noting that NATO countries have recently agreed to spend 5% of their
gross domestic product on their defense, Hegseth said the Trump
administration now hopes to apply that template to U.S. allies all
around the globe.
"In a few years, thanks to President Trump's visionary leadership, we
will have our allies — which include some of the wealthiest and most
productive countries in the world — once again fielding combat credible
militaries and more state-revived defense industrial industries,"
Hegseth said.
Along the fourth line of effort — defense industrial buildup — which
he believes may be the the most important, Hegseth said that
"supercharging" America's defense industrial base underwrites all other
lines of effort.
"Our objective is simple, if monumental: transform the entire
acquisition system to rapidly accelerate the fielding of capabilities
and focus on results," he said.
Hegseth said the key to that objective is moving away from the
current, prime contractor-dominated, low-competition defense industrial
base to "a future powered by dynamic vendor space that accelerates
production by combining investment at a commercial pace, with the
uniquely American ability to scale and scale quickly."
As his remarks concluded, Hegseth reiterated that the Trump
administration is committed to putting America first by pursuing peace
through strength.
"We're reviving the warrior ethos, we're rebuilding our great
military and — every day — our warriors are reestablishing
[deterrence]," Hegseth said.
"We owe safety, freedom and prosperity to the American people; and we will deliver."
