Trump’s Pentagon Focused On China And Homeland Defense

PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – Questions Congress should ask about DOD ‘peace through strength’ plan. Less than two months after becoming SECDEF, Pete Hegseth published an “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance” memo, reflecting Trump’s desire to reshape defense strategy.

While the memo itself is classified, public reporting on the guidance indicates the reordered priorities for the Pentagon: China and homeland defense, followed by everything else.

China appears to be the singular overseas focus of the interim guidance. And aside from concerns regarding Chinese influence over the Panama Canal (and presumably the Western Hemisphere more broadly), the Indo-Pacific remains the primary overseas focus for the U.S. military.

The trade-off for a stronger U.S. focus on China and the Western Hemisphere seems to be a diminished focus on Europe and the Middle East.

Homeland defense in this guidance emphasizes holistic border security and protecting U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere, such as ensuring access to the Panama Canal and combating cartels and transnational criminal organizations in Latin America.

Many details of how “peace through strength” will be implemented remain undefined — unsurprising given the early days of the administration.

Nevertheless, it is critical to articulate these plans quickly. The administration will soon need to clarify how it plans to adjust US force structure and posture, shift more security responsibilities to allies in Europe and the Middle East, and define the U.S. military’s role in border security.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense stories ending the week from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.

Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEFING – the PDB:    

NATIONAL SECURITY

Autonomous vessel startup Saronic has acquired Louisiana-based shipbuilder Gulf Craft as a hub for production and prototyping to support the company’s unmanned vessel developmental efforts.

Portents of the Trump administration’s fraying relationship with Israel.

HOMELAND SECURITY

A federal judge said in an order that he has found probable cause to hold the Trump administration in contempt over deportation flights it sent to El Salvador.

Army engineers decide to fast-track Great Lakes tunnel permits under Trump energy emergency order. The protective tunnel will be built around an aging Enbridge oil pipeline that runs beneath a channel connecting two Great Lakes.

PENTAGON WOKE WATCH

The ACLU along with a group of military students and family members sued DOD over book bans and curriculum changes instituted in recent weeks to comply with President Trump’s efforts to root out DEI.

The Army officially restored the name Fort Benning to its storied training post in Georgia, only this time to honor an 18-year-old corporal who fought in World War I, rather than a Confederate general.

POLITICS

Third top DOD staffer suspended in expanding leak probe fallout. Colin Carroll is the chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary.

Federal judge calls Trump’s order targeting a prominent law firm that successfully sued Fox News for promoting false claims of election fraud, a ‘shocking abuse of power.’

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is heading to the US to meet Trump – a visit that will see the conservative nationalist walk a tightrope between representing the EU and remaining in the US president’s good graces.

Republican-led legislation bans VA executives from ever again taking bonuses meant for rank-and-file employees.

Latest DoD IG report clears a hurdle for Trump to move SPACECOM to Huntsville, Alabama. This, after Biden’s 2023 decision to keep US Space Command’s permanent headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

US POWER OVERSEAS

B-1Bs have landed at Misawa Air Base for the Air Force’s first-ever Bomber Task Force rotation based in Japan.

CHINA THREAT

Five signs that the US and China will go to war. While the two nations fight it out on trade, less-noticed concerns are taking place in cyberspace, near Taiwan and at Chinese shipyards.

Seven rare earth metals that China is weaponizing against the US. China, which dominates both the mining and processing of rare earth metals, is restricting their export in response to Trump’s tariffs.

US should abandon its policy of “strategic ambiguity” toward Taiwan and instead declare outright whether it will or will not defend the island if attacked by China, a former head of US Indo-Pacific Command said.

China’s full-size, land-based aircraft carrier test facility, a key part of the country’s path toward establishing a carrier fleet and associated air wings, is being modified again, massively, now resembling a US Ford-class carrier.

Canopy seen clearly for first time on China’s next generation tailless stealth fighters from the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation.

Australia should talk to US about buying B-2 stealth bombers. China’s recent naval circumnavigation of Australia has highlighted its dire defense situation. Potent as nuke subs are, the first Australian boats under AUKUS are at least seven years away.

RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR

Amid heavy Russian attacks, Ukraine’s parliament has voted to extend martial law and military mobilization for another three months.

As the city marks three years of occupation, Russian authorities are systematically seizing thousands of homes from Ukrainian residents who fled Mariupol.

Ukraine parades Chinese nationals captured fighting for Russia in what is almost certainly a violation of international humanitarian law. What message was it trying to send?

IRAN THREAT/MIDEAST

US cutting forces in Syria by half. The move comes even as DOD is surging resources to the Middle East and could have possible ripple effects in the region.

Israel’s defense minister said that troops will remain in ‘security zones’ in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria indefinitely.

SAVING THEM FOR IRAN. Air Force B-2 stealth bombers have not dropped any GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bunker buster bombs on Yemen’s Houthis since Trump launched a renewed aerial campaign against them.

SPACE THREAT

Space Force is using the upcoming series of Victus satellite missions for the Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) program not just to build up the capability to routinely launch on short notice, but also to expand its operational capabilities to monitor and respond to on-orbit threats.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

Putin’s play for an Indonesian airbase was always likely to fail – but Russia has wider ambitions. A report claiming that Russia requested a permanent base for its warplanes in Indonesia’s remote Papua region, right on Australia’s northern doorstep, created big waves.

British troops ‘shoot down’ swarm of over 100 drones in tests using a new UK-made radio frequency weapon, a landmark step in modernizing the country’s air defense capabilities.

US MILITARY

The Air Force may not have its first E-7A Wedgetail yet, but it’s already seeking ’emerging technologies’ for the E-7—or its successors. This, to either enhance or replace the sensor capabilities of the Wedgetail—or possibly even acquire new capabilities for an entirely different targeting and battle management platform.

END of PDB

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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