In a move that signals a dramatic shift in US statecraft and warcraft, President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are pushing to officially rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War. Key committees in the House and Senate have already approved the change, and Trump is eager to sign it into law. This rebranding, described as candid and ominous, reflects a heightened zeal for killing, maiming, and destroying.
Historical Context of the Name Change
Originally christened in 1949, the Department of Defense unified the military branches under the Pentagon. Since then, presidents have routinely promoted each new war as vital for the defense of the United States and its values—a pretense that has pervaded mainstream media and political discourse. However, public support for recent conflicts, such as this year's war on Iran, has been extraordinarily low from the outset.
The unabashed fervor for catastrophic violence is fueling the momentum to replace “defense” with “war” department. According to journalist Norman Solomon, this change would undermine some of the deceptive marketing central to the Department of Defense brand, making it more difficult to perpetuate the assumption that US military actions spring from admirable motives.
Impact on Political Discourse
Politicians and journalists often refer to “defense spending” and a “defense budget,” dragging the public down a misleading rabbit hole. Even antiwar activists use these terms, inadvertently undercutting their positions. As George Orwell noted, “The slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.” The plan to adopt the Department of War name is a symptom of what Martin Luther King Jr. called “the madness of militarism.”
The Department of Defense has always functioned as the ultimate blunt instrument of a warfare state bent on leading the global arms race while engaging in wars of aggression. Euphemisms like “defense” never spared anyone from the lethality of Pentagon firepower. For instance, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution in 1964, escalating the Vietnam war that took an estimated 3.8 million lives, while declaring a desire for peace. Similarly, President George W. Bush proclaimed “We seek peace” weeks before invading Iraq in 2003.
Human Cost and Continuity
Endless words about defense and peace were meaningless to Guljumma, a seven-year-old girl who lost an arm in a bombing in Helmand province, Afghanistan, under President Barack Obama's administration. In contrast to his predecessors, Trump is often open about his enthusiasm for war, and Hegseth proudly touts “the warrior ethos.” They convey an approach akin to seeing the world as an ongoing humongous cage fight.
Yet, as singularly awful as the crassly extreme militarism of the Trump regime is—complete with a push for a 50% increase in the already bloated military budget—the continuity with previous decades is a reality. Every president in the last 80 years has mouthed platitudes about defense and peace while gunning the most destructive war machinery on the planet.
Political Reactions
Last week, Democratic Representative Adam Smith, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, called the move for the Department of War name “one of the dumbest things that has been done by this administration.” Smith was among 81 House Democrats who voted in favor of the Iraq War resolution in 2002. So far, his campaign contributions exceed $1.1 million, with the largest sector listed as “defense.”
The Trump regime is tweaking the business-as-usual of the military-industrial complex. Shamelessly bellicose rhetoric has dispensed with usual window-dressing for warmaking, but actual military policies are hardly a major departure from longstanding American approaches to war and peace.
Conclusion
In US statecraft and warcraft, Trump and Hegseth are now saying previously quiet parts out loud. They boast that might makes right, and the United States is by far the mightiest. As Senator Wayne Morse said over 60 years ago while denouncing the Vietnam war, “I don’t know why we think, just because we’re mighty, that we have the right to try to substitute might for right.” Since then, many other countries have given the lie to the name Department of Defense, including the Dominican Republic, Laos, Cambodia, Grenada, Lebanon, Panama, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Iran.
Whatever its name might be, the department in charge of making war for the US government is tasked with serving a proud legacy of mega-violence that has already led to several million deaths and vast destruction in this century.
