Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday criticized past celebrations of diversity within the U.S. military and pledged a more stringent approach to NATO burden-sharing and accountability for the war in Afghanistan.
“I think the single dumbest phrase in military history is ‘our diversity is our strength,’” Hegseth said during a speech to Pentagon staff. Addressing an audience of several hundred in the Pentagon auditorium, he added, “Under my watch, we will treat everyone with fairness.”
Hegseth, a military veteran and former Fox News commentator, has moved swiftly to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at the Defense Department, arguing that such programs are divisive.
In his remarks, he cited the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel as events that, in his view, have eroded perceptions of American strength. Such a decline, he argued, increases risks to global stability.
“Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen events that created the perception—reality or perception, but I would argue more perception—of American weakness,” Hegseth said. “Chaos happens when the perception of American strength is not complete. And so we aim to reestablish that deterrence.”
Hegseth said he would travel next week to a NATO meeting in Brussels, where he planned to urge allied nations to increase military spending and expand their industrial bases.
He also pledged an inquiry into the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which ended in 2021 with the collapse of the U.S.-backed government in Kabul and a chaotic evacuation from the capital’s airport.
“We are going to look back at what happened in Afghanistan and hold people accountable—not to be retrospective, not for retribution, but to understand what went wrong and why there was no accountability for it,” he said.
Hegseth suggested that the administration of former President Donald J. Trump, should he return to office, would seek to restore deterrence by focusing on securing the U.S.-Mexico border. He also pledged that “at a bare minimum,” the Pentagon would pass a full financial audit by the end of a second Trump term in early 2029. That goal aligns with previous efforts under President Biden, whose administration has worked toward meeting a congressional mandate for the Defense Department to pass an audit by the end of 2028.
Since taking office, Hegseth has also eliminated commemorations of heritage months, including Black History Month and Women’s History Month, issuing guidance that such observances “erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution.”
DEI programs, which are intended to promote opportunities for women, racial minorities, and other historically underrepresented groups, have long been backed by Democrats and civil rights advocates, who argue they help address systemic inequities. Conservatives, however, have criticized such initiatives, contending they prioritize identity over merit.
