US defence secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to “restore US military dominance” in the Western hemisphere as Washington formally shifts its national security policy towards its geographic backyard.
Hegseth declared that the Monroe Doctrine — which in 1823 claimed the western hemisphere as a US sphere of influence — “is in effect” and “stronger than ever”, and that the Pentagon would make “defending the US homeland and our hemisphere” its primary effort.
His speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California on Saturday came a day after the White House released its national security strategy, which made the western hemisphere the top priority of its “core, vital interests”, cutting the emphasis on countering China and Russia made by Joe Biden’s administration.