Trump officials flailing with erratic military strategy: ex-Army commander

During Barack Obama's presidency, Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling served as commander of U.S. Army Europe. The 72-year-old Hertling is now retired from active duty, but he is keeping busy offering military analysis for MS NOW and the conservative website The Bulwark. And Hertling, in The Bulwark, argues that the Trump administration needs to do a better when it comes to "juggling" its military and "national security priorities."

Describing a recent speech by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Hertling explains, "The message was unmistakable: China is the highest priority. The Indo-Pacific is the primary theater. America's military, diplomatic, and economic resources are increasingly focused on preventing Beijing from dominating Asia. There is logic behind that assessment: China's military modernization has been extraordinary, not only because of its scale but because of its consistency."

But Hertling, in his Bulwark article, stresses that the Donald Trump-era Pentagon shouldn't prioritize one national defense concern at the expense of another.

"Strategic patience is not always an American strength," the former U.S. Army Europe commander laments. "Our political cycles often reward short-term gains, immediate results, and headline-driven policymaking. In good times and bad, China demonstrated a willingness to think in decades while we frequently think in election cycles. That history helps explain why so many defense officials today view China as the pacing challenge. The under secretary of defense, Elbridge Colby, has spent years arguing that American strategy became distracted by secondary conflicts in the Middle East and Europe while neglecting the most consequential challenge to the global balance of power."

Hertling continues, "The (Trump) administration's National Defense Strategy, published earlier this year, reflects much of that thinking, emphasizing deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, strengthening a denial defense along the First Island Chain, and ensuring that China cannot achieve regional hegemony in Asia."

According to Hertling, the Trump Administration is confusing "prioritization" with "exclusivity" where national security is concerned.

"Strategy requires prioritization," Hertling explains. "Every strategic leader, civilian and military, understands that threats are theoretically infinite but resources are finite. Every planner must determine where to place the main effort. But prioritization is not the same thing as exclusivity. While Hegseth was speaking in Singapore about China's rise, Iranian military officials were increasingly claiming authority over maritime traffic through one of the world's most important waterways, while negotiations with the United States remain stalled over sanctions relief and access to frozen assets…. At the same time, Vladimir Putin was executing another major missile and drone strike against Ukraine…. The administration appears increasingly convinced that America can afford to focus on one ball at a time. The reality of global affairs suggests otherwise."

Hertling adds, "Iran may be the highest ball in the air today, but that does not mean China stops acting or that Russia stops attacking. It does not mean regional crises politely wait their turn until Washington is ready to address them. The challenge for great powers has never been identifying the most important threat, but managing multiple threats simultaneously without dropping one while reaching for another."

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