【Wen/Observer Net Wang Shipo】The White House released a major U.S. National Security Strategy report at midnight on the 4th, focusing on America's "core national interests," emphasizing the priority of the Western Hemisphere, sharply criticizing Europe's "cultural decline issues" and re-examining the alliance relations with Europe, which has drawn widespread attention.

According to reports from CNN and Politico, on December 6 local time, the U.S. "Secretary of War" Peter Hagens, in his speech at the annual Reagan Defense Forum, launched a fierce attack on U.S. foreign policy in the post-Cold War era, naming and condemning several former presidents and generals, while declaring that the era of American "utopian idealism" has ended.

Peter Hagens' social media during his speech at the Reagan Forum

The report said that Hagens' remarks echoed the new U.S. National Security Strategy report. Hagens said, "Say goodbye to utopian idealism, and welcome to pragmatic realism!"

Hagens stated that the United States has shifted its focus to the Western Hemisphere, saying, "We should no longer be distracted by democratic building, interventionism, unjust wars, regime change, climate change, woke moralizing, and ineffective nation-building. We will put the country's concrete and specific interests first."

Hagens strongly articulated the Trump administration's strategic shift towards returning to the Western Hemisphere, including so-called anti-drug operations in the Caribbean. The current U.S. military operations in the Caribbean Sea have sunk more than 20 small vessels suspected of drug trafficking, resulting in about 80 deaths. The Trump administration called it a crackdown on "drug terrorist organizations," but U.S. public opinion condemned the operation for being illegal. In response, Hagens firmly stated that as long as they continue to send drugs to the United States, the U.S. military will inevitably take tough measures.

Hagens also expressed the intention for the military to participate more in border patrols along the U.S.-Mexico border, saying, "We will ensure border security by establishing, training, and equipping specialized border mission forces that will carry out land, sea, and air border operations."

Regarding the issue of China, despite the recent focus of the Pentagon's defense strategy on containing China, Hagens said in his speech that the new strategy would adopt a more moderate tone, stating, "We will use strength rather than force to deter China." He said that this approach is based on flexible realism, and the purpose is not to dominate, but to achieve "power balance." "President Trump and this administration seek to establish a stable, peaceful, fair trade, and mutually respectful relationship with China. The United States will follow the policy of 'respecting the historic military buildup currently taking place in China,' while the Pentagon 'clearly recognizes the speed, scale, and systemic nature of China's military development.'"

In terms of allies, he called on allies to contribute more. Hagens praised countries such as South Korea, Poland, and Germany for increasing their defense spending in recent years, which stems from the Trump administration's policy of pushing allies to bear more defense costs. He also criticized unnamed previous U.S. military and leadership figures, accusing them of seeming to believe that these allies could not help themselves, which he said was "irrational."

He also criticized allies who are unwilling to increase defense spending: "Allies are not children, we can and should hold them accountable."

Later, this defense secretary reiterated his proposal on "activating the U.S. defense industrial base" from November, including new investments in warships, drones, and air defense systems, such as the emerging "Gold Dome" program. These are part of a $1 trillion defense budget, which includes an additional $15 billion from a large spending bill passed by Congress this year.

Hagens is echoing the new U.S. National Security Strategy under Trump. The U.S. previously released a new National Security Strategy, emphasizing strengthening military presence in the Western Hemisphere, calling for cultivating resistance forces in Europe and winning the cultural war in Europe. Once released, the strategy quickly faced opposition from Democrats and European countries.

The document was suddenly released without prior notice at midnight on the 4th, consisting of 33 pages, and is the first National Security Strategy issued since Trump's second term.

In the document, mainland Europe is portrayed as a region where economic decline is secondary, with a more serious reality being the risk of "civilization dying." The strategy document attributes the risk of "civilization dying" in Europe to the dual dilemmas facing the continent: one is the high volume of immigration, and the other is the long-term low birth rate. The document states that the United States should prioritize engaging with "right-wing forces in Europe."

The document defines the U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere as the top priority, calling for adjusting military deployments to address urgent threats in the Western Hemisphere, shifting from regions that have been relatively less important to U.S. national security in recent decades or years.

This strategy is an upgraded version of the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, which declared the Western Hemisphere as America's sphere of influence.

The report pointed out that the strategy highlights the complete shift in U.S. foreign policy under the Trump administration and the growing ideological divide between Washington and traditional allies. Compared to the National Security Strategy of the Biden administration, this new strategy significantly reduces the mention of countering China and Russia, prioritizing the Western Hemisphere as a "core critical interest."

Once released, the strategy quickly faced opposition from Democrats and European countries. Democrats criticized the strategy as a "dangerous blueprint" for the United States retreating on the global stage, weakening the strength of the United States and its allies. German Foreign Minister Baerbock responded to the strategy by saying, "Europe does not need external advice." Regarding the comments on freedom of expression and immigration in the document, he said, "We believe we can completely discuss and debate these issues independently in the future."

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Original: toutiao.com/article/7581001607195525675/

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