Pentagon outlines significant shift in army priorities
Signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the strategy criticizes previous administrations for weakening the military through prolonged nation-building and overseas interventions, which the document says diluted readiness and undermined the “warrior ethos.”
The new approach refocuses the armed forces on their “core, irreplaceable role” of deterring and winning conflicts that directly impact American interests.
The NDS identifies four main lines of effort: defending the US homeland, deterring China in the Indo-Pacific through strength rather than confrontation, encouraging greater burden-sharing with allies and partners, and revitalizing the US defense industrial base.
Homeland defense is emphasized as the military’s top priority, with expanded efforts on border security, countering narcotics trafficking networks designated as terror organizations, protecting strategically important terrain in the Western Hemisphere—such as the Panama Canal and Greenland—and strengthening air, missile, cyber, and nuclear defenses.
Regarding China, the strategy advocates increased military-to-military engagement to reduce the risk of conflict.
"About China, we will also be clear-eyed and realistic about the speed, scale, and quality of China’s historic military buildup. Our goal in doing so is not to dominate China; nor is it to strangle or humiliate them. Rather, our goal is simple: To prevent anyone, including China, from being able to dominate us or our allies—in essence, to set the military conditions required to achieve the NSS goal of a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific that allows all of us to enjoy a decent peace," the strategy states.
Russia is described as a "persistent but manageable threat," particularly to NATO’s eastern members, with European allies expected to take primary responsibility for conventional defense. The strategy also highlights Iran and North Korea as ongoing security concerns, citing recent US and allied operations as evidence of restored deterrence.
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