Defense

Democrats trotted out personal attacks: Hegseth drank too much at a party, he made a pass at a woman, he once went to a strip club. Oh, the horror. Can you imagine a soldier, home from deployment, who could do such a thing?

Evidently most members of the Senate Committee on Armed Services have never been near a military base, nearly all of which are surrounded by car dealerships, Hooters and bars.

Democrats’ main strategy seemed to be to rehash these personal smears, but say them louder and with more venom. Instead of forceful and commanding, many just seemed shrill. The result was internet comedy gold, with that one meme being viewed, at this writing, by 4.8 million people (likely exponentially higher than the number of people who actually watched the hearing itself).

We need creative leaders who ask themselves “how would I handle a similar event?” and “what’s the next crisis most likely to hit my area of responsibility?”

It’s a mode that seems to come reflexively to Trump. Perhaps it’s the mindset he’s cultivated as a developer — a muscle that helps him identify the most likely risks and rewards the future might hold. The 45th and soon-to-be 47th president seems likewise drawn to other imaginative people like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who are currently reimagining the scope and breadth of the federal government.

Your nation’s active and former military members are far more likely to save your life and property than take it. Sadly, you won’t hear that from our current commander-in-chief or his media parrots. In times like this, instead of leaping to smear, a more competent administration would assure the public that a thorough investigation is underway. A more competent media might ask the FBI and Biden himself what steps they are taking to protect other large-scale gatherings and celebratory events (like, oh, an inauguration in two weeks). Until we return to competence, Americans have every right to be jittery.

The hallways at the Pentagon are filled with a constellation of stars and the legions of staffers who support them. I’ve worked in both the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Starting around 2011, the Joint Staff began to surge in scope and power. Though the chairman of the Joint Chiefs is not in the chain of command and simply serves as an advisor to the president, there are a staggering 4,409 people working for the Joint Staff, including 1,400 civilians with an average salary of $196,800 (yes, you read that correctly). The Joint Staff budget for 2025 is estimated by the Department of Defense’s comptroller to be $1.3 billion.

The American public supports a strong military and is in favor of robust defense spending — but the rumor of a $600 Pentagon hammer still hits home. Taxpayers are furious that the Department of Defense can’t seem to find $824 billion, failing its seventh audit in a row. It is hard to ask for a raise when nearly a year’s worth of appropriations have seemingly disappeared into the E-ring’s couch cushions.

As the war in Ukraine rages onward, President-elect Donald Trump brings a glimmer of hope for peace in Europe this Christmas season.

An end to the fighting hinges on three key points: (1) Crimea (2) the Donbas region east of the Dnieper River and (3) NATO membership for Ukraine. Many more issues lurk, but without agreement on these major negotiating points, it is unlikely a peace deal will emerge.

Western leaders keep touting Russia’s high death toll, which estimates now place at 600,000. To military strategists here in the United States, such a human cost is unimaginable. Add up every American combat death going back 160 years through the Gulf Wars, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Korea, World War II, World War I, and even the Union combat deaths in the Civil War, and the number does’t reach what Russia has lost in the past 1,000 days.

American and NATO leaders are foolish to underestimate Russian resolve.