Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has claimed that young people signing up to join the military today are more likely to deploy into American cities than to actual war zones. “If a young man or woman signs up today, are they more likely to deploy in their career to the Middle East or to the Midwest?” Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asked him during an interview on Oct. 5, reported Raw Story. “Well, I’ll tell you this, the era of sort of reckless adventurism around the globe is over,” Hegseth stated. “So you’re not going to see nation-building abroad. In that sense, they’re less likely.”
“Also, President Trump’s willing to stand alongside law enforcement and make sure they’re safe in the conduct of their duties. So in that sense, they’re more likely.”
Doocy asked Hegseth if antifa was more dangerous than Russia or China. “Well, it depends on where you are, right?” Hegseth replied. “Ultimately, we’re going to defend the homeland first. That’s most important.”
The night before, the Trump administration branded Chicago a “war zone” and authorized deployment of 300 National Guard there, despite the opposition of elected leaders including the mayor and state Governor J.B. Pritzker, reported AFP. Pritzker accused Republicans of aiming to sow “mayhem on the ground,” during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” on Oct. 5. “They want to create the war zone, so that they can send in even more troops,” he said. “They need to get the heck out.”
