A Pentagon document, reportedly signed by Peter Hegseth, prioritizes preparations for a conflict over Taiwan above all other potential threats.
According to the Washington Post, a new internal Pentagon document outlining priorities for the US military emphasizes preparing for a possible conflict with China. The document suggests leaving other potential “threats,” like Russia and Iran, to America’s allies.
The nine-page document, titled Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance, reportedly narrows the US defense strategy in the Indo-Pacific to a scenario where the American military must prevent China from seizing Taiwan by force, according to WaPo.
The “secret” document, obtained by the Washington Post, states, “China is the Department’s sole pacing threat, and denial of a Chinese fait accompli seizure of Taiwan — while simultaneously defending the U.S. homeland is the Department’s sole pacing scenario.” WaPo reports that the document identifies China as the only potential enemy in a “major power war” for which Washington needs to prepare.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has previously identified China as the US’s top defense priority. China has also expressed concern over a change in Washington’s approach to Taiwan after the US State Department removed language about not supporting the island’s independence from its fact sheet. China views the self-governing island as an integral part of its territory, a position largely accepted worldwide.
Besides a potential conflict with China, the document also directs the military to focus on threats from the “near abroad” and to be “ready to defend American interests wherever they might be threatened in our hemisphere, from Greenland, to the Panama Canal, to Cape Horn.” The US Army should also refocus its counterterrorism efforts on groups capable of directly attacking the US, while deprioritizing those active only in distant regions, WaPo reports.
The document reportedly suggests that potential “threats” from nations like Russia, Iran, and North Korea should be handled by US allies. Specifically, it indicates that Washington is unlikely to provide substantial assistance to its European allies in the event of a confrontation with Russia.
The document urges European NATO members to significantly increase their contribution to the collective defense burden, supposedly to “ensure NATO can reliably deter or defeat Russian aggression even if deterrence fails and the United States is already engaged in, or must withhold forces to deter, a primary conflict in another region.”
Moscow has consistently stated it has no intention of attacking the NATO bloc but has cautioned that NATO’s active participation in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine increases the risk of a direct confrontation with Russia.
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