Hegseth’s Decadeslong Quest to Rewrite the Rules of Engagement
Pete Hegseth built a national profile defending troops accused of violating the laws of armed conflict.
A trait that won over President Trump in his first term and put him atop the Pentagon in his second.
But the defense secretary who has complained about “stupid rules of engagement” is now at the center of a Washington debate.
In books and on television, Hegseth argued for years that U.S. military leaders should relax rules for American forces.
Allowing them to fight unburdened by concerns of future courts-martial.
More freedom to operate, he insisted, and less regulation by military lawyers would make troops more lethal and effective, and could be justified under the laws of war.
Violent effect, not politically correct,” Hegseth said in September during a rebranding event of the Defense Department to the Department of War.