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Fox News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Pentagon freezes out DC think tanks in new move, citing 'America last' concerns
The Pentagon has suspended participation in all think tank events until further notice, departing from a history of dialogue with Washington's civilian national security realm. The move is an attempt "to ensure the Department of Defense is not lending its name and credibility to organizations, forums and events that run counter to the values of this administration." "Going forward, no DOD official will attend events by America Last organizations that promote globalism and hate (President Donald Trump)," Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson wrote on X. In the future, the Defense Department (DOD)'s Office of Public Affairs will conduct a "thorough vetting" every time an official is invited to a conference to decide whether the event advances Trump's agenda. Such security events often are funded by foreign governments or defense contractors and serve as a space for such players to push a message or a product they sell to key officials and for defense officials to put out a message of their own from the U.S. government. The move comes after the Pentagon yanked its officials from participation in the Aspen Security Forum — a gathering of defense-minded industry leaders and researchers. Wilson had said the secretary's office believed that event "promotes the evil of globalism, disdain for our great country, and hatred for the President of the United States." Several top military officials had been scheduled to speak at the event. Historically, defense secretaries have participated in defense conferences and think tank events like the Munich Security Conference or the Reagan Defense Forum. Hegseth skipped out on the Munich Security Conference but attended the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in May.
The Hill
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Pentagon halts participation in research, think tank events
The Defense Department (DOD) is halting the participation of its officials in research and think tank events, for now, according to a new directive issued this week. Now, the Pentagon will vet every event where national security officials are invited to speak to ensure the gathering is aligned with the values of the department. 'In order to ensure the Department of Defense is not lending its name and credibility to organizations, forums and events that run counter to the values of this administration, the Department's Office of Public Affairs will be conducting a thorough vetting of every event where Defense officials are invited to participate,' Pentagon's chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said in an emailed statement to The Hill. The order, which went into effect on Tuesday, came just over a week after the Pentagon decided to pull senior DOD officials from the annual Aspen Security Forum, a four-day summit in Colorado, saying the national security gathering 'promotes the evil of globalism, disdain for our great country and hatred for the President of the United States.' Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson said in a Thursday post on the social media platform X that 'going forward, no DOD official will attend events by America Last organizations' that promote 'globalism' and 'hate' President Trump. The DOD has banned officials from participating in the Halifax International Security Forum, an annual gathering of military and foreign officials, slated to take place in November, and it is analyzing whether the Pentagon should be part of other security summits, according to Politico, which first reported on the decision. The order applies to civil servants, military officers and senior leaders, who will be asked to provide talking points for their speeches before going on stage, Politico reported, citing an internal email sent to DOD personnel. Former high-ranking DOD officials, including ex-defense secretaries, have participated in national security conferences where they have given speeches, outlining aspects of U.S. defense policy, and met with their counterparts. 'The days of 'business as usual' are OVER,' Wilson, the DOD spokesperson, wrote on X.
New York Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Pentagon Suspends Its Participation in Think Tank Forums
First, the Pentagon pulled out of the Aspen Security Forum, an annual national security and foreign policy conference where government officials share their thoughts with private sector and think tank types about national security priorities. Now, the Pentagon is suspending its participation in all national security events held by think tanks. In a statement on Thursday, the Pentagon said the move was an attempt 'to ensure the Department of Defense is not lending its name and credibility to organizations, forums and events that run counter to the values of this administration.' Previous defense secretaries, including Lloyd J. Austin III, Mark T. Esper, Jim Mattis, Ashton B. Carter and Chuck Hagel, routinely flew to security conferences in such places as Munich, Singapore and Halifax to meet with defense partners, allies and even adversaries in some cases. It was almost a rite of passage in disseminating American doctrine and policy points to a wider audience. But the current man in the job, Pete Hegseth, has not been so keen to mix and mingle in the world of national security. In February, he skipped the Munich Security Conference, which is usually an important event for new defense secretaries. And during his first trip in the role, to Europe for a NATO meeting, he posted photos of his workouts with troops, even as critics complained about his rocky start. The Pentagon's chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, said in a statement that the Defense Department's Office of Public Affairs would conduct 'a thorough vetting of every event where Defense officials are invited to participate.' The decision was reported earlier by Politico. Earlier this month, Mr. Hegseth abruptly canceled the department's participation in the four-day Aspen event, saying the forum's values did not align with the Pentagon's. In that case, a Defense Department spokeswoman, Kingsley Wilson, said that Aspen promoted 'the evil of globalism, disdain for our great country and hatred for the president of the United States.' John Phelan, the Navy secretary, and Adm. Samuel Paparo, the head of the military's Indo-Pacific Command, had been scheduled to address the gathering. They did not attend.
Newsweek
4 days ago
- Business
- Newsweek
No, Trump Did Not Start the Global 'Trade War'
Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. After strong growth in 2024, global trade will take a hit this year. Many point the finger at President Donald Trump. That's a mistake. The World Trade Organization said the volume of merchandise trade this year will contract by 0.2 percent. Its revised forecast "is nearly three percentage points lower than it would have been without recent policy shifts." The culprit? The trade body blames "a surge in tariffs and trade policy uncertainty." That, of course, is an indirect reference to Trump's series of tariff hikes, pauses, and pullbacks. Just about everyone thinks Trump is responsible for the breakdown of the global trade system. A banner showing a picture of President Donald Trump is displayed outside of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) building on June 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. A banner showing a picture of President Donald Trump is displayed outside of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) building on June 3, 2025, in Washington, Associated Press, for instance, wrote that the American president declared "a trade war on the rest of the world." By doing so, he has "panicked global financial markets, raised the risk of a recession and broken the political and economic alliances that made much of the world stable for business after World War II." That narrative is superficial. It's far more accurate to say the post-war rules-based trade order is dead, but China killed it, and Trump stopped pretending it continued to exist. There had been great hope at the turn of the century that China would end long-standing predatory and criminal trade practices by joining the World Trade Organization. By and large, however, Beijing did not abandon those practices after accession in December 2001. Trump, in response to Chinese intransigence, changed the world, irrevocably. As POLITICO wrote, "The Trump administration has dealt a lasting blow to much of the post-World War II consensus around free trade and long-term cooperation." Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, at the just-concluded Aspen Security Forum said, "We have to recognize that we're probably not going back to exactly that system." In all probability, we're not going back to that system at all. For one thing, there is, at least at this moment, almost no domestic pressure on Trump. His policies are working. "Remember in April, after Liberation Day and the markets plunged and there was so much concern about what this would do to growth, these higher reciprocal rates, what it would do to inflation," CNBC's Sara Eisen said on July 16. "Guess what? First of all, those rates haven't panned out and while we have seen higher tariff rates across the board, what hasn't panned out either is a big surge of inflation, weakness in the economy, or a slump in the financial markets." "We saw $26.6 billion come in the month of June," Eisen said, referring to the federal government's net tariff revenue. "Of course, someone's paying for the tariffs, but it's not the American consumer." Yet can Trump, to use one of his favorite terms, keep "winning"? "There's no question that foreign-based exporters keep paying many of the new levies," Washington, D.C. trade analyst Alan Tonelson told Newsweek this month. "Import prices from major trade competitors such as China, Mexico, and Canada are down on an annual basis. In fact, for import-heavy items such as footwear, smartphones, and school supplies, prices keep falling. Strikingly, on an annual basis the per-vehicle prices of Japanese auto exports to the U.S. have nosedived nearly 30 percent." There is some bipartisan support for his general policy. "It's a big deal that you've now had two presidents of two different parties take a protectionist line," said Robert Zoellick, former U.S. Trade Representative and former World Bank Group president, at Aspen, referring to Trump and Joe Biden. "That is a very big switch in the nature of trade politics." Nonetheless, Trump needs to execute policies well. As Tonelson, who blogs on trade at RealityChek, noted, "It's reasonable to argue that Trump's tariff moves have been needlessly complicated and erratic and that domestic businesses would benefit from predictability." Yet as the trade expert also said, "most American companies have managed to navigate the turbulence." Foreign competitors have far fewer options. "The U.S. remains the largest integrated market, so no foreign leader will last long after being priced out of serving American customers," Charles Ortel, an Asia-based investor and financial writer, told Newsweek. "Meanwhile, many will rush to invest inside America so as to work around these tariffs." Trump will also have to stimulate American-owned manufacturing, best done with an expanded investment tax credit. At a time when China is fast preparing for war—"Dare to fight," is Xi Jinping's trademark phrase these days—Trump will not have much time to rebuild American manufacturing behind his new tariff wall. Time is running out for another reason: Trump's trade measures are roiling global trade, which means they are also roiling geopolitics and changing the world, as Rice suggested. "Any student of history will know the most dangerous phase is the interregnum between one world order and another," Singapore Foreign Minster Vivian Balakrishnan said at Aspen. "Are we in that interregnum? Yes, we are." Gordon G. Chang is the author of Plan Red: China's Project to Destroy America and The Coming Collapse of China. Follow him on X @GordonGChang. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
New Indian Express
5 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Another Yalta moment for a new world order
Based on interactions with American national security elites at the annual Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, Politico compiled a report six months into Donald Trump's second presidency last weekend. The digital newspaper reported the Aspen delegates 'accepted that this president has irrevocably upended the global order... former and current US and foreign officials, business leaders and analysts acknowledged publicly and privately that the Trump administration has dealt a lasting blow to much of the post-World War II consensus around free trade and long-term cooperation'. Indeed, isn't this how history rolls on—when a statesman appears out of nowhere with a sledgehammer and a bold agenda to break the crust? The demolition is painful to watch and the outcome difficult to predict, which is reflected in the industrial-scale demonisation of Trump by the self-styled 'liberal globalists'. Trump has smashed not only 'the norms and conventions that governed US trade relations, use of military force and engagement with stalwart partners and alliances', as Politico characterised it, but also rolled back the agencies entrusted with foreign policy tasks including USAID, CIA, Pentagon and the state department. Indian foreign policy elites seek solace that Trump's policies will not have a long shelf life and could be easily reversed once he leaves office. However, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice admitted at the closing panel of the Colorado summit, in her capacity as co-chair of the Aspen Strategy Group, 'We have to recognise that we're probably not going back to exactly that system'. We find Trump's pugilistic approach on India-Pakistan tensions to be irksome, as our attempts to influence it on the edges are being rebuffed. But US mediation between India and Pakistan has been a fact of life going all the way back to the Indus Waters Treaty. The difference today is that Trump is claiming credit for it, which is profoundly embarrassing for the Indian leadership. But then, our politicians are second to none in grandstanding either.
