Eight months after the Trump administration took office, a lot has happened at the Pentagon, as reported by Reuters. In addition to renaming the department the “United States War Department,” the army began deploying naval units in the Caribbean to combat drug smugglers.
Hegseth also fired the chief of staff and the commander-in-chief of the Navy, the British agency added. He also removed some LGBT books from the Pentagon library and cut programs that unfairly favored minorities at the expense of combat effectiveness.
According to Hegseth, the military should “prepare for war, not defense,” he told commanders. He also defended the reform of the department's inspector general and the abolition of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) programs, which he has long referred to as “woke smetie” (woke garbage).
He also criticized the “decades of decline” resulting from DEI initiatives and announced several personnel changes that he said he was ‘confident’ would be beneficial. “If my words break your heart, you should resign,” he said.
“It is absolutely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the corridors of the Pentagon,” the minister said.
Trump hinted that the US is waiting for the US and Arab states' 21-point plan for Gaza to be accepted, on which Hamas has so far not commented. With regard to Venezuela—which, according to the White House, supports drug terrorism—he did not rule out ground operations.
This is the most radical statement to come out of Tuesday's meeting so far. Criticism of the DEI's “leftist” policies has been on the agenda since Trump's inauguration on January 20, but the attack on the South American country, whose links to drug cartels have only been unofficially proven, is much harsher.
The Republican also emphasized the need to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to the negotiating table. He added that the United States is “25 years ahead” of Russia and China in the field of submarines.
“We are facing an invasion from within,” Trump said. He was likely referring to the “narco-terrorist” drug cartels from South America or the decentralized organization Antifa, which he recently classified as terrorist.
He also touched on the Russian-Ukrainian war and criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for not being willing to end the fighting. The White House chief added that he was “disappointed” in Putin. However, he announced that he had withdrawn two nuclear submarines that were “just lurking there” from the Russian coast.
(reuters, sab)
