The Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a 45-minute speech where he underlined that his main agenda for the military under his tenure will be shifting what he describes as “the nature of ourselves.” In his speech, he added that “stupid rules of engagement,” which could mean the Geneva Conventions, will no longer be regarded as he plans to “untie” the hands of the US Army.
Hegseth is a former host at Fox News, but perhaps what revealed a clearer perspective of his worldview was his book The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free. Released in June 2024, right before the 2024 Elections, the book laid out his entire plan not only to change the name of the Department of Defense but also to reshape how the army views its role in society.
In the book, Sec. Hegseth argues that “woke” generals have left the army effeminate and urged the next commander in chief to clean house — which just so happened to be Donald Trump. Sec. Hegseth shares subtle but strong alignments with Trump, particularly in their views of masculinity and how that extends to shaping the kind of military they want America to project. In his speech, Hegseth explained that he wants the US Army to “unleash overwhelming and punishing violence on the enemy.”
Morgan J. Freeman posted a clip from the speech on Twitter, lamenting that Sec. Hegseth could be suggesting the US Army commit war crimes by openly declaring his intent to ignore “stupid rules of engagement.” Hegseth also justified renaming his Department by saying that the goal is to train warriors, not defenders. And that the objective in war is to win, not merely defend.
WTF??? Drunk Hegseth just called for the USA to abandon the Geneva Conventions — saying our troops should ignore “stupid rules of engagement.”
— Morgan J. Freeman (@mjfree) September 30, 2025
FYI: Those “rules” were created after WWII to stop WAR CRIMES. Hegseth is defending atrocities on live TV. pic.twitter.com/V8RTvnzLTx
That’s yet another thing Hegseth clearly outlined in his book. He has no moral dilemmas when it comes to war; when describing the nuclear bombing of Japan he wrote, “They won. Who cares.” A statement that starts making more sense when paired with his views of US allies. Like Trump, Hegseth doesn’t think too highly of NATO. According to PBS, he described the alliance as “self-righteous and impotent nations asking us to honor outdated and one-sided defense arrangements they no longer live up to.”
By advocating for the end of respecting the Geneva Conventions, the people Hegseth is putting most at risk are non-combatants and prisoners of war. The US has built and, quite frankly, earned a reputation as a human rights defender across the globe. There have been mistakes and bad decisions, sure, but the only reason Trump can confidently negotiate, for instance, the release of hostages in the Gaza war is because of this reputation. Without it, some negotiations could simply not be tenable.
Trump is simultaneously campaigning for a Nobel Peace Prize while announcing a more aggressive and offensive approach to the US Army. These new directives are meant to make Americans feel safer, but they instead sound rather concerning. However, on the Department of War’s official website, Hegseth assured the US Army that his new directives are only meant to put them back in the driver’s seat.
