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| | ==NATO 3.0== | | ==NATO 3.0== |
| | + | ===Feb 12, 2025 Brussels speech=== |
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| | + | In a speech to [[NATO]] representatives in [[Brussels]], [[Belgium]] on February 12, 2025, shortly after taking office, Hegseth said, |
| | + | {{Cquote|We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. |
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| | + | Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the [[war]] and cause more suffering. |
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| | + | A durable peace for Ukraine must include robust [[security guarantee]]s to ensure that the war will not begin again. |
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| | + | This must not be [[Minsk Accords|Minsk 3.0]]. |
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| | + | That said, the [[United States]] does not believe that [[NATO]] membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement. |
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| | + | Instead any security guarantee must be backed by capable [[European]] and non-European troops. |
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| | + | If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission. And they should not covered under [[Article 5]]. There also must be robust international oversight of the line of contact. |
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| | + | [...] |
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| | + | The [[United States]] faces consequential threats to our homeland. We must – and we are – focusing on security of our own borders. |
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| | + | We also face a peer competitor in the [[Communist Chinese]] with the capability and intent to threaten our homeland and core national interests in the [[Indo-Pacific]]. The U.S. is prioritizing deterring war with [[China]] in the [[Pacific]], recognizing the reality of scarcity, and making the resourcing tradeoffs to ensure [[deterrence]] does not fail. |
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| | + | Deterrence cannot fail, for all of our sakes. |
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| | + | As the United States prioritizes its attention to these threats, [[European]] allies must lead from the front. |
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| | + | Together, we can establish a [[division of labor]] that maximizes our comparative advantages in Europe and Pacific respectively.<ref>[https://www.defense.gov/News/Speeches/Speech/Article/4064113/opening-remarks-by-secretary-of-defense-pete-hegseth-at-ukraine-defense-contact/ Opening Remarks by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at Ukraine Defense Contact Group (As Delivered)], Feb. 12, 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Brussels, Belgium. defense.gov</ref>}} |
| | + | In late September 2025 as international tensions [[escalated]], Hegseth summoned all active duty generals and admirals to an urgent meeting in [[Quantico]], [[Virginia]] for an undisclosed meeting. Speculation abounded the purpose of the meeting. Many of the high-ranking officers were contact with each other to find out why Hegseth has ordered such an unprecedented gathering that will upend the schedules of hundreds of them.<ref>https://www.twz.com/land/war-secretarys-emergency-meeting-a-mystery-to-hundreds-of-top-officers-ordered-to-attend</ref> A consensus emerged that the order for all top military officers to meet in one place was for critical [[domestic]] reasons, as they would not be put in one place to plan [[war]] on a [[foreign]] country where they could wiped out with a single [[missile]] strike. |
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| | ==See also== | | ==See also== |