Since the name of Pete Hegseth was put forward by Donald Trump's cabinet to take the position of American Secretary of Defense, a powerful wind of concern and excitement has arisen in the Pentagon, as well as in Defense circles. in the United States.
The least we can say is that this announcement surprised even the Republican camp, as the profile of this 44-year-old man is atypical for this position belonging to the restricted circle of the most influential figures in the he American administration, notably playing a key role in authorizing nuclear fire.
But more than the surprise created by this nomination proposal, which must still be validated by the Senate, it is the concern it arouses dn the defense debate across the Atlantic. Indeed, this loyalist of Donald Trump has distinguished himself, in recent years, with particularly radical positions concerning the Pentagon and American international policy.
National Guard veteran, Fox News host and loyal supporter of D.Trump, who is Pete Hegseth, chosen by the president-elect to be the next Secretary of Defense?
It must be said that Pete Hegseth has an atypical profile, to say the least, for this strategic position in the American presidential administration. By his youth, first of all. At 44, he will be the youngest American Secretary of Defense since the appointment of Donald Rumsfeld, who was 43 in 1975, within the Ford administration.
Then, by his lack of experience in this highly political field. Indeed, unlike the vast majority of his 28 predecessors, since the creation of this position in 1947 by Harry Truman, he is neither a multi-star general officer, nor a specialist in international relations and defense policy. American, having cut his teeth in previous administrations.
Thus, if Pete Hegseth has real military experience, it was limited to his role as a junior officer in the Minnesota National Guard, with which he commanded a combat section in Afghanistan, then at Guantánamo, and he was sent as an instructor in counter-insurgency techniques to Iraq.
Since his return from Iraq, the man has developed severe resentment against the way the Pentagon regards its men, as well as for American external operations, so costly in funds as in human lives, that they have proven useless. , according to him.
In the 2010s, Pete Hegseth published several books on the subject, including the recent “ The War on Warriors : Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free“, particularly vindictive against the Pentagon and American international policy in recent years, while he co-led an association of American veterans.
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