Hegseth：川普是雷根的「真正繼承者」，新保守派與全球主義者背叛了「以強促和」的遺產

發布者：Tim Hains 發布日期：2025 年 12 月 7 日

在週六的雷根國家防禦論壇上，戰爭部長 Pete Hegseth 辯稱，唐納德·川普是羅納德·雷根「以強促和」原則的「真正且正當繼承者」，並指責冷戰後的兩黨外交政策菁英以「烏托邦理想主義」和「不受控制的新保守主義與經濟全球主義」背叛了這項遺產。

「如今大多數援引羅納德·雷根之名的人，尤其是自詡為共和黨鷹派者，並不像羅納德·雷根。他們所倡導的政策與他的完全不同。事實上，在過去 30 年的大部分時間裡，他們的政策恰恰相反。如果你檢視實際政策，唐納德·川普才是羅納德·雷根的真正且正當繼承者，」Hegseth 說。「過去的政府延續了門羅主義已過期的信念。他們錯了。門羅主義仍然有效，而且在川普的補充原則下比以往更強大——這是對我們在這一半球權力和特權的常識性恢復，符合美國的利益。」

「自冷戰結束以來，一代自詡為『新雷根主義者』的人放棄了雷根的明智政策，转而擁抱不受控制的新保守主義和經濟全球主義，」他說。「他們以以強促和的名義追求全球軍事霸權。結果，我們卻在中東陷入無方向的戰爭、在歐洲陷入陸地戰爭，並見證了中國的經濟崛起。」

「國防部在西半球的活動不僅僅是消滅毒梟恐怖分子。它們還關乎威懾並防衛我們國家在半球內的利益。為此，國防部將始終為總統提供必要的可靠選項。這包括保證美國軍事和商業對關鍵地形的進入，如巴拿馬運河、加勒比海、美洲灣、北極和格陵蘭。」

在所有情況下，我們都準備好善意地與鄰國合作，但他們必須盡到防衛共同利益的責任。如果他們不這麼做，戰爭部將準備採取專注且果斷的行動，以推進美國的利益，」他說。

「這就是門羅主義的川普補充原則，最近在國家安全戰略中被明確編纂，」Hegseth 說。「在多年忽視之後，美國將恢復在西半球的軍事主導地位。我們將利用它來保護我們的家園以及該地區關鍵地形的進入權。我們還將拒絕敵對勢力在我們的半球部署軍隊或其他威脅性能力。」

「以強促和的反面是以弱致戰。覺醒主義、弱勢與戰爭——這些都是喬·拜登和勞埃德·奧斯汀的專長。」

「阿富汗的慘敗——這是我們國家的恥辱，也是對士兵犯下的罪行。那種弱勢釋放了 10 月 7 日針對以色列的伊斯蘭戰爭。同樣的弱勢也引發了烏克蘭戰爭。弗拉基米爾·普丁看到了敞開的大門，他就進去了。間諜氣球飛越我們國家，國防部長一週內失蹤，」他說。「覺醒主義、弱勢、戰爭。」

完整講稿：

皮特·赫格塞斯，美國戰爭部長：你知道，華盛頓的人喜歡經常援引雷根總統的名字來批評川普總統。他們說，或者至少暗示，唐納德·川普一點也不像羅納德·雷根。他們說現任總統的做法與羅納德·雷根在冷戰高峰期倡導的願景完全不同，當時我們與蘇聯周旋並最終獲勝。 但那些人錯了。他們大錯特錯。 如今大多數援引羅納德·雷根之名的人，尤其是自詡為共和黨鷹派者，並不像羅納德·雷根。他們所倡導的政策與他的完全不同。事實上，在過去 30 年的大部分時間裡，他們的政策恰恰相反。 如果你檢視實際政策，唐納德·川普才是羅納德·雷根的真正且正當繼承者。正是川普總統繼承並恢復了雷根總統強大但專注且現實的國家防禦方法。因此，我們今天聚集在雷根總統圖書館，討論川普總統的美國優先、以強促和、常識議程及其對戰爭部的意義，是非常合適的。 只需檢視結果，就能理解為何川普總統是那位正當繼承者。所以，讓我們看看雷根及其政府實際做了什麼。 雷根在越南戰後重建軍隊，這被視為他最偉大的成就之一。川普總統已經做了同樣的事，並正在繼續，為國防做出歷史性投資。但雷根總統也真誠相信以強促和中的「和平」部分，正如他的行動所顯示。 在冷戰高峰期，與共產主義者對話並非流行之事。然而，雷根總統做了。在他與米哈伊爾·戈爾巴喬夫及其他人的高調會晤中，羅納德·雷根看到了從強勢位置與國家敵對者接觸的審慎與潛力。所以他做了，即使面對國內的激烈批評，包括來自他自己黨派的。 現在，雷根總統並非天真。他認識到，與敵對者的富有成果接觸只有從強勢位置才可能，尤其是軍事強勢，這就是為何他如此專注於建設美國軍隊。我們仍在談論雷根的軍事建設，我的孩子們和你們的孩子們將來也會談論川普的軍事建設。 雷根總統及其團隊繼承了一支因越南無盡戰爭而疲憊不堪的軍隊，他們將那場戰爭的教訓銘記於心。這就是為何他在使用聯合部隊時如此謹慎。 事實上，雷根政府最著名的軍事原則，以他的國防部長卡斯帕·溫伯格命名，專門設計用來糾正導致越南失敗的錯誤。其中其他關鍵原則包括： 美國不應在未涉及美國或其盟國的關鍵國家利益的情況下，將部隊投入戰鬥。 美國部隊僅應全心全意投入，並有明確的勝利意圖。否則，不應投入部隊。 美國作戰部隊僅應在有明確定義的政治和軍事目標，並有能力實現這些目標的情況下投入。 僅應將美國部隊的投入視為最後手段。 這是健全的原則，並反映在雷根總統實際使用美國軍隊的方式上，即專注、果斷的方式，且僅在他確定符合國家關鍵利益時才這麼做。 事實上，在他任期內，雷根總統僅兩次投入美國地面部隊：在格瑞那達和黎巴嫩。否則，他將聯合部隊專注於冷戰時代的威脅和優先戰區：歐洲的蘇聯人。 這就是雷根總統如何實現以強促和，始終以持久和平為目標。 可想而知，羅納德·雷根的紀律性、專注性和現實方法，與他離任後數十年許多自稱追隨者引領我們陷入的宏大、國家建設、道德主義且無方向的戰爭大相徑庭——那些戰爭是我這一代人參與的。 事實上，僅在川普總統的領導下，在他的第一任期和現在，我們才能在多年遭受所謂「兩黨共識」之苦後，恢復美國的偉大——那其實只是災難性外交政策的委婉說法。 摒棄烏托邦理想主義，擁抱硬派現實主義。 具體來說，羅納德·雷根教導我們專注、強大領導力的價值，但他的所謂門徒並未銘記這一教訓。自冷戰結束以來，一代自詡為「新雷根主義者」的人標榜雷根之名，但治理時並不像他。充滿喧囂，卻缺乏清晰度。 這在軍事領域尤其如此。這一代自詡新雷根主義者放棄了雷根實際的明智政策，转而擁抱不受控制的新保守主義和經濟全球主義。在經濟上，他們拆解了我們的工業基礎，將其運往海外。同時，在外交和國防上，他們放棄了雷根、尼克森和艾森豪威爾的清醒、靈活現實主義。 相反，他們試圖讓美國成為全球警察、保護者和仲裁者。「民主普世」，他們說，即使在佩奇河谷，即使人們不想要，也做不到。 他們將美國盟國變成依賴者，幾乎鼓勵歐洲和世界各地的這些國家搭便車，而我們用美國納稅人的錢補貼他們的國防。這些自詡新雷根主義者以以強促和的名義追求全球軍事霸權。結果，我們卻在中東陷入無方向的戰爭、在歐洲陷入陸地戰爭，並見證了中國的經濟崛起。 在主持如此糟糕的表現後，令人驚訝的是，這些人仍認為自己有資格公開發言，更不用說對我們其他人說教了。有些人甚至在這個舞台上因此獲獎。 但川普總統更清楚。他知道如何在持久基礎上恢復以強促和，將國家利益和美國人民置於首位，以實用、可適用且常識的方式——重要的是，讓美國更好，也讓我們的盟國更好。 這是他第一任期競選和領導的願景，現在他在第二任期上繼續建設。這一願景——而非導致我們近期數十年眾多災難的準帝國主義妄想——將真正帶我們回到羅納德·雷根的真實遺產。 摒棄烏托邦理想主義，擁抱硬派現實主義。 只需檢視事實。如同雷根總統，川普總統致力於以強促和雙面——不僅將這句話用作好戰的薄紗。在不到一年的時間內，川普總統已達成八項重大和平協議，包括歷史性的加薩戰爭結束。而且他還沒完。 即使現在，在總統領導下，我們正不懈努力結束烏克蘭的悲劇戰爭——如果他當時是總統，這場戰爭根本不會開始。 世界今天看到了一個完全不同的美國。這些歷史性的和平機會並非偶然。這是川普總統的願景和決心。 如同雷根總統，川普總統願意與對手對話——從 1980 年代的米哈伊爾·戈爾巴喬夫和鄧小平，到今天的弗拉基米爾·普丁和習近平。這源於強勢，而非弱勢。這源於目的的清晰。 華盛頓的人喜歡批評川普總統這麼做，但那些批評者忘記了，這正是羅納德·雷根所做的。而且美國因此更好。 如同雷根總統，川普總統也知道從強勢位置談判有多重要，尤其是軍事強勢。在新更名的戰爭部，感謝川普總統的領導和國會，我們去年獲得了歷史性的資金提升。而且相信我，這只是開始。 別誤會：川普總統決心維持並加速世界上最強大的軍隊——最強大、最致命且美國製造的——自由的軍火庫。 我們也在恢復戰士精神：回歸基礎——準備度、問責、標準、紀律、致命性。我不確定你是否看到了，但我最近在匡蒂科向幾位將軍就此主題發表了演講。 戰爭部是以強促和的劍與盾。我們是強勢部門，我們準備好按照川普總統的指示揮舞那把劍。 以強促和的反面是以弱致戰。覺醒主義、弱勢與戰爭——這些都是喬·拜登和勞埃德·奧斯汀的專長。 阿富汗的慘敗——這是我們國家的恥辱，也是對士兵犯下的罪行。那種弱勢釋放了 10 月 7 日針對以色列的伊斯蘭戰爭。同樣的弱勢也引發了烏克蘭戰爭。弗拉基米爾·普丁看到了敞開的大門，他就進去了。間諜氣球飛越我們國家，國防部長一週內失蹤。 覺醒主義、弱勢、戰爭。 你知道，我最近在討論打擊毒品船隻時，曾想用「正義打擊」這句話。但我的團隊勸阻我，說：「先生，這是馬克·米利用來描述一戶阿富汗家庭被擊中的詞語，作為對艾比門事件的回應。」他們連續兩天稱之為「正義打擊」，儘管他們幾小時內就知道擊中了什麼。 弱勢、覺醒主義、戰爭。 這是新的一天。透過午夜之錘行動，世界看到了，在數十年猶豫不決後，美國軍事強勢的果斷效果，將伊朗核計劃徹底摧毀。川普總統說：「他們不能擁有核彈」，他說到做到。其他人說過。川普總統做到了。 這項行動是以溫伯格原則行動的教科書範例：以清醒方式應用果斷專注，推進國家利益，同時避免另一場旷日持久的戰爭。我們對葉門胡塞武裝的有限但致命行動也是如此。喬·拜登容忍針對美國航運的攻擊。川普總統恢復了航行自由——另一項基礎性和核心國家利益。某處，托馬斯·傑佛遜正在微笑。 現在，世界正在看到美國決心的強大，在遏止致命毒品流入我們國家的努力中。這裡，我們一直專注。而且我們一直明確：如果你為指定恐怖組織工作，並用船隻將毒品帶入這個國家，我們會找到你，我們會擊沉你。毫無疑問。 川普總統可以且將按照他認為合適的方式採取果斷軍事行動，以防衛國家利益。讓地球上任何國家都不要懷疑這一點。 如同雷根總統，川普總統知道如何以此方式行事，與明確目的相連，並有果斷且可信的軍事勝利理論。正如越南的教訓影響了羅納德·雷根及其溫伯格原則，同樣，伊拉克和阿富汗的教訓也指導著川普總統和今天的部長。 多年來，新保守派和自由國際主義者的兩黨共識將我們從一場災難引向另一場。他們將我們的兒女送入無方向戰爭，同時允許我們的盟國變得更弱，我們的

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Hegseth: Trump Is "True Heir" To Reagan, Neocons And Globalists Betrayed "Peace Through Strength" Legacy

Posted By Tim Hains
On Date December 7, 2025

At the Reagan National Defense Forum on Saturday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth argued that Donald Trump is the "true and rightful heir" to Ronald Reagan's "peace through strength" doctrine, accusing post–Cold War, bipartisan foreign policy elites of betraying this legacy with "utopian idealism" and "unchecked neoconservatism and economic globalism."

“Most who invoke Ronald Reagan's name today, especially self-styled Republican hawks, are not much like Ronald Reagan. The policies they've championed are nothing like his. In fact, for the better part of 30 years, they've been quite the opposite. If you look at actual policies, Donald Trump is the true and rightful heir of Ronald Reagan," Hegseth said. "Past administrations perpetuated the belief that the Monroe Doctrine had expired. They were wrong. The Monroe Doctrine is in effect, and it is stronger than ever under the Trump corollary — a common-sense restoration of our power and prerogatives in this hemisphere consistent with U.S. interests."

"Since the end of the Cold War, a generation of self-proclaimed ‘neo-Reaganites’ abandoned Reagan’s wise policies in favor of unchecked neoconservatism and economic globalism," he said. "They sought global military hegemony under the auspices of peace through strength. Instead, we got rudderless wars in the Middle East, land war in Europe, and the economic rise of China."


"The department's activities throughout the Western Hemisphere aren't just about killing narco-terrorists. They're also about deterring and defending our nation's interests against other threats in the hemisphere. To that end, the department will always provide the president with credible options when needed. That includes guaranteeing U.S. military and commercial access to key terrain like the Panama Canal, the Caribbean, the Gulf of America, the Arctic, and Greenland."

In all instances, we stand ready to work in good faith with our neighbors, but they must do their part to defend shared interests. Where they do not, the War Department stands ready to take focused and decisive action that advances U.S. interests," he said.

"This is the Trump corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, recently codified so clearly in the National Security Strategy," Hegseth said. "After years of neglect, the United States will restore U.S. military dominance in the Western Hemisphere. We will use it to protect our homeland and access to key terrain throughout the region. We will also deny adversaries the ability to position forces or other threatening capabilities in our hemisphere."

"The opposite of peace through strength is war through weakness. Wokeness, weakness, and war — all specialties of Joe Biden and Lloyd Austin."

"The debacle in Afghanistan — a stain on our country and a sin committed against the troops. The weakness that unleashed Islamist war against Israel on October 7th. And that same weakness invited war in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin saw the open door and he took it. Spy balloons flying over our country and sec defs going AWOL for a week," he said. "Wokeness, weakness, war."

Full transcript:

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. SECRETARY OF WAR: You know, folks in Washington like to invoke President Reagan's name often when they criticize President Trump. They say, or at least insinuate, that Donald Trump is nothing like Ronald Reagan. They say the current president's approach is nothing like the vision championed by Ronald Reagan at the height of the Cold War as we grappled with the Soviets and ultimately prevailed.

But those folks are wrong. They're dead wrong.

Most who invoke Ronald Reagan's name today, especially self-styled Republican hawks, are not much like Ronald Reagan. The policies they've championed are nothing like his. In fact, for the better part of 30 years, they've been quite the opposite.

If you look at actual policies, Donald Trump is the true and rightful heir of Ronald Reagan. It's President Trump who has inherited and restored President Reagan's powerful but focused and realistic approach to national defense. It's therefore only fitting that we gather at the Reagan Presidential Library today to talk about President Trump's America First, peace-through-strength, common-sense agenda and what it means at the Department of War.

One need only look at the results to understand why President Trump is that rightful heir. So let's look at what Reagan and his administration actually did.

Reagan rebuilt the military after Vietnam, and that is rightfully considered one of his greatest achievements. President Trump has done and is doing the same, making historic investments in defense. But President Reagan also believed sincerely in the "peace" part of peace through strength, as his actions showed.

It was not a popular thing to do at the time, at the height of the Cold War, to talk to communists. Yet President Reagan did. During his high-profile meetings with Mikhail Gorbachev and others, Ronald Reagan saw the prudence and potential in engaging with our nation's adversaries from a position of strength. So he did, even in the face of fierce criticism at home, including from his own party.

Now, President Reagan wasn't naive. He recognized that fruitful engagements with our adversaries were only possible from a position of strength, especially military strength, which is why he focused so much on building up the American military. We still talk about the Reagan buildup, and my kids and yours will someday talk about the Trump buildup.

President Reagan and his team inherited a military worn down from their generation's endless war in Vietnam, and they took the lessons of that war to heart. This is why he was so deliberate in how he used the joint force.

Indeed, the most famous military doctrine of the Reagan administration, named for his secretary of defense, Caspar Weinberger, was specifically designed to correct for the failures that led to Vietnam. Among other key principles, the Weinberger Doctrine stipulated:

The United States should not commit forces to combat unless the vital national interest of the United States or its allies are involved.

U.S. troops should only be committed wholeheartedly and with a clear intention of winning. Otherwise, troops should not be committed.

U.S. combat troops should be committed only with clearly defined political and military objectives and with the capacity to accomplish those objectives.

The commitment of U.S. troops should be considered only as a last resort.

This is sound stuff, and it was reflected in how President Reagan actually used the American military, namely in a focused, decisive manner and only when he determined that it was in our nation's vital interest to do so.

In fact, throughout his time in office, President Reagan only committed U.S. ground forces twice: in Grenada and in Lebanon. Otherwise, he focused the joint force on the Cold War era threat and priority theater: Soviets in Europe.

That's how President Reagan achieved peace through strength, always with a clear eye toward lasting peace.

Suffice it to say, Ronald Reagan's disciplined, focused, and realistic approach was a far cry from the grandiose, nation-building, moralistic, and rudderless wars that many of his self-described acolytes led us into in the decades after Reagan left office — wars my generation fought in.

Indeed, it's only under President Trump's leadership, during his first term and now, that we've been able to restore America's greatness after years of suffering under the so-called "bipartisan consensus," which is really just a euphemism for disastrous foreign policy.

Out with utopian idealism, in with hard-nosed realism.

To be specific, Ronald Reagan taught us the value of focused, powerful leadership, but his so-called disciples didn't heed that lesson. Since the end of the Cold War, a generation of self-proclaimed "neo-Reaganites" have touted Reagan's name but didn't govern like him. All the bluster, none of the clarity.

That's especially true in the military realm. This generation of self-proclaimed neo-Reaganites abandoned Reagan's actual wise policies in favor of unchecked neoconservatism and economic globalism. In economics, they dismantled our industrial base, shipping it overseas. At the same time, in diplomacy and defense, they swore off the clear-eyed, flexible realism of Reagan, Nixon, and Eisenhower.

Instead, they set about trying to make America the policeman, the protector, the arbiter of the whole world. "Democracy for all," they say, even in the Pech River Valley, even when people don't want it, can't do it.

They turned American allies into dependents, all but encouraging these nations across Europe and around the world to free-ride while we subsidize their defense with U.S. taxpayer dollars. These self-described neo-Reaganites sought global military hegemony under the auspices of peace through strength. Instead, we got rudderless wars in the Middle East, land war in Europe, and the economic rise of China.

After presiding over such a poor performance, it's remarkable that these people still think they're qualified to speak in public, let alone moralize to the rest of us. Some of them have even been awarded for it on this very stage.

But President Trump knows better. He knows what it means to restore peace through strength on an enduring basis, to put our nation's interests first and the American people first in a way that is practical, applicable, and common sense — that leaves, importantly, America better, but also leaves our allies better off.

It's the vision that he ran on and led on in his first term, and he's building on it now in his second. It's a vision — not the quasi-imperialist delusions that led us to so many disasters in recent decades — that will actually bring us back to the true legacy of Ronald Reagan.

Out with utopian idealism, in with hard-nosed realism.

Just look at the facts. Like President Reagan, President Trump is dedicated to both sides of the peace-through-strength coin — not just using that phrase as a thin veil for warmongering. In less than a year, President Trump has secured eight major peace deals, including a historic end of the war in Gaza. And he's not finished yet.

Even as we speak, under the president's leadership, we are working tirelessly to end the tragic war in Ukraine — a war that never would have started in the first place if he had been president.

The world sees an entirely different America today. These historic opportunities for peace are not happening by chance. It's President Trump's vision and determination.

Like President Reagan, President Trump is willing to talk to rivals — from Mikhail Gorbachev and Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s, to Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping today. This is born of strength, not weakness. It is born of clarity of purpose.

Folks in Washington like to criticize President Trump for doing so, but those critics forget that this is exactly what Ronald Reagan did. And America was better off for it.

Like President Reagan, President Trump also knows how important it is to negotiate from a position of strength, especially military strength. And at the newly renamed Department of War, thanks to President Trump's leadership and to Congress, we received a historic boost in funding last year. And believe me, that is only just the beginning.

Make no mistake about it: President Trump is hell-bent 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.

We're also restoring the warrior ethos: back to basics — readiness, accountability, standards, discipline, lethality. I'm not sure if you saw, but I recently gave a speech on that topic to a few generals in Quantico.

The War Department is the sword and the shield of peace through strength. We are the strength department, and we stand ready to wield that sword as President Trump directs.

The opposite of peace through strength is war through weakness. Wokeness, weakness, and war — all specialties of Joe Biden and Lloyd Austin.

The debacle in Afghanistan — a stain on our country and a sin committed against the troops. The weakness that unleashed Islamist war against Israel on October 7th. And that same weakness invited war in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin saw the open door and he took it. Spy balloons flying over our country and sec defs going AWOL for a week.

Wokeness, weakness, war.

You know, I was recently tempted, when the discussion went out about hitting drug boats, to use the phrase "righteous strike." But then my team counseled me against it and said, "Sir, that's the phrase that was used by Mark Milley when a family of Afghans was struck as a response to what happened at Abbey Gate." They called it, for two straight days, a "righteous strike" when they would have known within hours exactly what they struck.

Weakness, wokeness, war.

It's a new day. With Operation Midnight Hammer, the world saw, after decades of hemming and hawing, the decisive effect of American military strength in obliterating the Iranian nuclear program. President Trump said, "They can't have a nuclear bomb," and he meant it. Others have said it. President Trump did it.

This operation was a textbook example of the Weinberger Doctrine in action: decisive focus applied in a clear-eyed way that advanced our nation's interests while avoiding another protracted war. Same goes for our limited but lethal actions against the Houthis in Yemen. Joe Biden tolerated the targeting of U.S. shipping. President Trump restored freedom of navigation — another foundational and core national interest. Somewhere, Thomas Jefferson is smiling.

And right now, the world is seeing the strength of American resolve in stemming the flow of lethal drugs to our country. Here again, we've been focused. And here we've been clear: if you're working for a designated terrorist organization and you bring drugs to this country in a boat, we will find you and we will sink you. Let there be no doubt about it.

President Trump can and will take decisive military action as he sees fit to defend our nation's interests. Let no country on earth doubt that for a moment.

Like President Reagan, President Trump knows how to do so in a way that is tied to a clear purpose with a decisive and credible theory of military victory. Just as the lessons of Vietnam informed Ronald Reagan and his Weinberger Doctrine, so too the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan guide President Trump and his secretary today.

For years, a bipartisan consensus of neoconservatives and liberal internationalists led us from one disaster to another. They sent our nation's sons and daughters to war after rudderless war, even as they allowed our allies to grow weaker and our potential rivals stronger.

From the very beginning, nearly a decade ago, President Trump called this out for what it is: stupid, an America Last foreign policy. And they fought him for it. They tried to jail him for it. And they failed.

Well, their time is over. Their America Last bipartisan consensus is done. It is finished.

Under President Trump's leadership, after decades of disastrous decisions by this nation's self-appointed so-called foreign policy elite, we're once again putting American interests first. We're prioritizing our nation's security, freedom, and prosperity — our citizens.

As laid out by President Trump, we're doing it in a way that leaves not only our nation better off, but also the world.

Out with utopian idealism, in with hard-nosed realism.

The president's approach is one of that flexible but practical realism — common sense, if you will — that looks at the world with a clear-eyed perspective essential for serving America's real interests. The approach is informed by strategic rationality and cost-benefit assessments. We will define our vital interests in ways that are reasonable and that make sense to ordinary Americans.

This is the approach and mindset that shapes the department's focus. As a result, the War Department will not be distracted by democracy-building, interventionism, undefined wars, regime change, climate change, woke moralizing, and feckless nation-building. We will instead put our nation's practical, concrete interests first.

We will deter war. We will advance our interests. We will defend our people. Peace is our goal. And in service of that objective, we will always be ready to fight and win decisively if called upon.

As part of this mission, we are asking American taxpayers to fund the world's greatest military. We're asking mothers and fathers across America to trust us with their most precious resource, their sons and daughters. And we will honor their trust and their sacrifice.

The historic recruiting and retention numbers of President Trump's first year show who the American people trust.

This means we will not send America's best to advance foolhardy or reckless adventures halfway around the world. It also means not asking them to pick up the tab for allies who should fund their own defense.

Instead, and above all, it means that we only ask our warriors to fight for things that make America and Americans safe, free, and prosperous. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Nothing more and nothing less.

Again, this is common sense. And that's what President Trump's War Department is all about.

This common-sense approach means prioritizing four key lines of effort at the Department of War. First, defending the U.S. homeland and our hemisphere. Second, deterring China through strength, not confrontation. Third, increased burden-sharing for U.S. allies and partners. And fourth, supercharging the U.S. defense industrial base.

As we apply President Trump's approach of flexible realism, the first two lines of effort are the primary operational focus of the joint force for the simple reason that these missions matter the most for the safety, freedom, and prosperity of Americans. At the same time, however, other threats persist around the world, including in Europe and the Middle East. We cannot ignore them, nor should we.

That's why our approach also prioritizes burden-sharing and burden-shifting. Indeed, for the first time since Reagan's era, allied and partner burden-sharing is no longer an afterthought or a "nice to have." Today, it is a core element of our national defense.

And finally, the fourth line of effort — maybe the most important — supercharging America's defense industrial base underwrites everything else.

Last month, I gave another speech in Washington, this time to defense industry leaders, to announce a department-wide — not reform, a transformation — of requirements, acquisitions, and foreign military sales. Our objective is simple, if monumental: transform the entire acquisition system to rapidly accelerate the fielding of capabilities and focus on results.

The bottom line is historic, generational, and transformational changes that we will implement and that will move us from the current prime-contractor-dominated system — defined by limited competition, vendor lock, cost-plus contracts, stressed budgets, and frustrating protests — to a future powered by a dynamic vendor space that accelerates production by combining investment at a commercial pace with the uniquely American ability to scale, and scale quickly, all at the speed of urgency.

That speech stands on its own, so I'll spend the balance of my time here talking about the other three lines of effort, the first of which is defending the U.S. homeland and hemisphere.

The Biden administration was more concerned about Ukraine's borders than our own. They tried to make it controversial to say that border security is national security. But that is, of course, absurd. Border security is national security, and we are prioritizing it accordingly.

Since January 20th, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War has made it a top priority to defend our nation's borders, to get 100% operational control of that border. We did so by surging forces where our troops partner with DHS and CBP to seal the border.

Under Joe Biden, tens of millions of illegals — and we have no idea where the hell they came from or where the hell they are — flowed across our border, not to mention lethal narcotics responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of Americans.

Today, the number of illegals crossing into our country is zero. We are saving lives and communities, and we are keeping it that way.

We're also proud to support our law enforcement partners as they conduct mass deportations of dangerous illegals who have no business being in our country. We'll secure the border in part by organizing, training, and equipping units specifically for border defense missions, including operations in the land, maritime, and air domains alongside our interagency partners.

We're also leaning on our Mexican counterparts to do more. They have made progress, and we'll need to see more, and quickly. And so far in this administration, nobody has built more new border wall than the Department of War.

But our borders shouldn't be the first line of defense for the American homeland. They should be the last line of defense. And that's why we're prioritizing our fight against cartels throughout the Western Hemisphere.

You can just look at the news — not all of the news. The days in which these narco-terrorists, designated terror organizations, operate freely in our hemisphere are over. These narco-terrorists are the al-Qaeda of our hemisphere, and we are hunting them with the same sophistication and precision that we hunted al-Qaeda.

We are tracking them. We are killing them. And we will keep killing them so long as they are poisoning our people with narcotics so lethal that they're tantamount to chemical weapons.

And we're not doing this on our own. Throughout our hemisphere, our allies and partners recognize that these narco-terrorists threaten them as well. So we're working together, sometimes overtly, sometimes not, and will keep doing so for the sake of a safer, secure, and more stable hemisphere for all of us.

But make no mistake: where a country cannot or will not do its part, then we at the Department of War will always be ready to take decisive action in this hemisphere. In our hemisphere, there is no safe haven for narco-terrorists.

Securing the border does not mean we're losing sight of other critical homeland defense missions. On the contrary, we're doubling down.

One of the first executive orders signed by President Trump was for the creation of Golden Dome for America — a revolutionary approach to defend our nation from advanced aerial threats. And we're accelerating efforts on that right now. And Golden Dome will produce tangible protection for this country inside the time frame of this administration and beyond.

President Reagan promised SDI — Strategic Defense Initiative. President Trump's doing the same thing. Now the tech has caught up, and we can actually build the Golden Dome for America — a game-changer.

At the same time, we're also rapidly strengthening our nation's ability to deter and defend against cyber attacks on Department of War and dual-use targets, including through the most comprehensive overhaul of U.S. Cyber Command since it was started 15 years ago.

Nor have we lost sight of the threat of global jihadism. As with narco-terrorists, working alongside our partners in the IC and other agencies, as well as partners abroad, we will continue to hunt and kill Islamist terrorists with the intent and ability to strike our homeland.

All of this, of course, rests upon the power of our nation's nuclear deterrent, which is the foundation of our nation's defense. Nothing else matters if we don't get this right. And so we will, as President Trump has said, modernize our nation's nuclear triad. We will develop additional options to support deterrence and escalation management. And we will never allow this nation to be left vulnerable to nuclear blackmail, even in a world where we face two other major nuclear-armed powers. And we will test nuclear weapons and nuclear delivery systems on an equal basis as others.

Finally, the department's activities throughout the Western Hemisphere aren't just about killing narco-terrorists. They're also about deterring and defending our nation's interests against other threats in the hemisphere. To that end, the department will always provide the president with credible options when needed. That includes guaranteeing U.S. military and commercial access to key terrain like the Panama Canal, the Caribbean, the Gulf of America, the Arctic, and Greenland.

In all instances, we stand ready to work in good faith with our neighbors, but they must do their part to defend shared interests. Where they do not, the War Department stands ready to take focused and decisive action that advances U.S. interests.

This is the Trump corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, recently codified so clearly in the National Security Strategy. After years of neglect, the United States will restore U.S. military dominance in the Western Hemisphere. We will use it to protect our homeland and access to key terrain throughout the region. We will also deny adversaries the ability to position forces or other threatening capabilities in our hemisphere.

Past administrations perpetuated the belief that the Monroe Doctrine had expired. They were wrong. The Monroe Doctrine is in effect, and it is stronger than ever under the Trump corollary — a common-sense restoration of our power and prerogatives in this hemisphere consistent with U.S. interests.

The second line of effort for the War Department is deterrence against China through strength, not through confrontation. Under President Trump's leadership, relations between the United States and China are better and stronger than they've been in many years. President Trump and this administration seek a stable peace, fair trade, and respectful relations with China.

In November, President Trump and President Xi reached a major breakthrough in trade, putting both nations on a strong economic pathway. Reciprocal state visits in 2026 provide the opportunity for even more progress.

The War Department is committed to the same approach, opening a wider range of military-to-military communications with the People's Liberation Army, aimed at deconfliction and de-escalation. We laid the groundwork for this with our counterparts months ago at ASEAN in Malaysia and will continue that work.

This line of effort is based on flexible realism, not naiveté — an approach aimed not at domination, but rather at a balance of power. A balance of power that will enable all of us — all countries — to enjoy a decent peace in an Indo-Pacific where trade flows openly and fairly, where we can all prosper and all interests are respected.

That's the world that we seek in the Indo-Pacific, and that is what our approach is designed to produce. We will be strong but not unnecessarily confrontational. To quote another great Republican president, we will "speak softly and carry a big stick."

As I said at Shangri-La earlier this year, we're not trying to strangle China's growth. We're not trying to dominate or humiliate them. Nor are we trying to change the status quo over Taiwan. Our interests in the Indo-Pacific are significant but also scoped and reasonable. This includes the ability for us, along with allies, to be postured strongly enough in the Indo-Pacific to balance China's growing power. This means ensuring none of our allies are vulnerable to sustained, successful military aggression.

This is what we mean by deterrence in the Indo-Pacific: not dominating China, but rather ensuring they do not have the ability to dominate us or our allies. It's common sense.

In this vein, our role at the Department of War is essential. It's our job to make sure Beijing sees unquestionable U.S. military strength that, if necessary, can back up our national interests. Even as we make clear our peaceful intentions, we insist that, as a Pacific nation ourselves, China respect our long-standing interests in the Indo-Pacific — and not just insist, but maintain the manifest strength to underwrite it.

This involves respecting the historic military buildup they are undertaking. Our department maintains a clear-eyed appreciation of how rapid, formidable, and holistic the military buildup has been. We take these capabilities seriously. It would be silly, and frankly disrespectful, not to.

This approach requires focus, prioritization, and clarity of purpose. That's why we will ensure our military can, if — God forbid — necessary, project sustained capabilities along the first island chain and throughout the Indo-Pacific. That means being so strong that aggression is not even considered and that peace is preferred and preserved. This is deterrence by denial.

It is our job to ensure that President Trump is always able to negotiate from a position of strength in order to sustain peace in the Indo-Pacific. This is not a pivot for tomorrow. It is a reality for today.

And finally, our third line of effort is increasing burden-sharing with U.S. allies around the world. Here again, many self-described neo-Reaganites seem to have lost the plot. According to them, only the United States has the ability to provide for defense and deterrence in Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific. According to them, if the United States doesn't do it, nobody will. In fact, according to some, America is actually better off subsidizing these allies' defenses, even if they're perfectly capable of doing more for themselves and our collective defense.

That is, of course, patently ridiculous, not to mention insulting to our allies. It's actually vitally important for America's allies and partners to step up and do their part for our collective defense. This isn't just a matter of doing right by Americans who are rightfully frustrated by years of allied free-riding. This is pragmatic.

As we rightly prioritize our homeland, hemisphere, and the Indo-Pacific, threats persist in other regions, and our allies need to step up — and step up for real. Our allies in Europe face Russia. Iran has been set back by the president's and Israel's actions but remains a threat in the Middle East. And of course, North Korea looms on the Korean Peninsula.

We must also prepare for the possibility of simultaneous threats in different regions. That doesn't mean we think such simultaneous action is likely or even necessarily inevitable, but it's something the Department of War must be prepared for.

And the best way to prepare for this is not by pretending we can do everything or be everywhere — effectively handing a permission slip for our allies' laggardly defense efforts. This neo-Reaganite attitude led us to fritter away our soldiers' lives, our natural resources, and our citizens' support in rudderless wars.

Our approach is fundamentally different and in keeping with the noble tradition of President Reagan, as well as Nixon and Eisenhower. We will actually, for real, get our allies and partners to step up and do their part. We will no longer tolerate free-riding.

President Trump has shown the way with his historic leadership that yielded the commitments at NATO's Hague summit. There, NATO committed to spend 5% of GDP on defense — 3.5% on core military and 1.5% on security-related investments — and pledged to take primary responsibility for Europe's conventional defense. Things most folks sitting here just five years ago would have thought completely impossible.

We're now using this template to press our allies around the world to meet this new global standard the president has set, and it's working. First, there was Europe and Canada. And just last month, South Korea committed to spend 3.5% of GDP on core military spending and assume the leading role in Iraq's conventional defense. We are optimistic that other Indo-Pacific allies will follow suit.

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 boasting revived defense industrial industries. This will form a powerful shared defensive shield, with well-armed allies around the world ready to defend themselves, their interests, and our collective interests. Real partnerships and alliances based on hard power, not just flags and fancy conferences based on theories and hot rhetoric.

Our allies are not children. They're nations capable of doing far more for themselves than they have. And it's time they stand up. And they are. In fact, many of them are nations who have proud and powerful martial traditions of their own. And we should treat them that way. We can and should and must expect them to do their part, exactly as President Trump has.

Model allies that step up — like Israel, South Korea, Poland, increasingly Germany, the Baltics, and others — will receive our special favor. Allies that do not, allies that still fail to do their part for collective defense, will face consequences. President Trump likes helping countries that help themselves, and we feel the same way. That's the nature of partnerships rather than dependencies. It's what we owe our friends, and most importantly, what we owe the American people.

This is a period of great consequence for our great republic. Our forefathers fought and won the Cold War, ushering in a unipolar moment during which America stood alone. It was a time of tremendous opportunity, well-earned after a century marked by two world wars and a Cold War, always under a nuclear shadow.

Well, as you know, that unipolar moment is over, and we have an opportunity to define what comes next. Under President Trump's leadership, that's exactly what we're doing.

The Department of War, at the president's direction, is laser-focused on advancing America First, peace-through-strength, common-sense efforts. We're reviving the warrior ethos. We are rebuilding our great military. And every day, our warriors are reestablishing the deterrence that Joe Biden so foolishly gave away.

We owe safety, freedom, and prosperity to the American people, and we will deliver. We will achieve peace through strength, which is what the American people voted for and what President Trump demands.

And in doing this, we appeal to Almighty God, just as our forefathers did. George Washington, the founder of the War Department, appealed to God's providence during every step of our improbable revolution — on prayer, on bended knee, on the battlefield. Ronald Reagan did the same, appealing to heaven as the world hung in the balance.

We do the same today, with Jesus Christ as our God. May he grant us the wisdom to see what is right and the courage to do it.

May God bless our warriors, and may God bless our great republic. Thank you.