Ideas

The Pentagon Against the Think Tanks

Pete Hegseth finds a new enemy.

First published in The Atlantic on July 30, 2025

by Tom Nichols, The Atlantic
July 31, 2025 | reading time: 7 Min.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has scanned the horizon for threats, and sure enough, he has found a new group of dangerous adversaries: think tanks, the organizations in the United States and allied nations that do policy research and advocate for various ideas. They must be stopped, according to a Defense Department announcement, because they promote “the evil of globalism, disdain for our great country, and hatred for the president of the United States.”

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