Hegseth Shutters Pentagon Office On Future Wars

The New York Times reports:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the shuttering of the Office of Net Assessment, a small, often secretive and sometimes opaque office that for more than 50 years has helped the Pentagon’s most senior leaders think about the future of war.

The office costs about $10 million to $20 million a year — a fraction of the Pentagon’s $850 billion annual budget — but its work and staff of about a dozen civilians and military officers has often had an outsize impact on how the Pentagon prepares for possible conflicts.

Thomas G. Mahnken, a former top Pentagon strategist, questioned the decision to dismantle an office focused on preparing the U.S. military for long-term competition with major powers at a time when China seems to be growing stronger and more aggressive.

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