America’s Secretary for War Pete Hegseth’s call for all US generals and Admirals to suddenly convene next week at a Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, for an in-person address by him has created quite a commotion. The Pentagon, or rather the rebranded Department of War by Donald Trump, is reportedly non-plussed with Hegseth not giving any hit what the sudden meeting is about. Hegseth’s order states that every General and Admiral, as well as their senior enlisted advisers, must go to Washington, DC for a face-to-face meeting, no matter where they are stationed.
The US media quoted an unnamed source who saw a copy of the order, saying, "All general officers in command in grade O-7 through O-10 and their general officer senior enlisted advisers are directed to attend within operational constraints." The military classifies all generals and admirals as O-7 through O-10. The order reportedly "applies to all senior officers with the rank of brigadier general or above, or their Navy equivalent, serving in command positions and their top enlisted advisers." The number adds up to some 800 senior military officers, including military officers from areas of conflict close to Ukraine, the Middle East, and naval operations off the coast of China.
With Trump firing former high-ranking military officers and officials, as well as the arrest of ex-FBI Director James Comey for lying to the Congress (as if Trump does not), there is confusion and alarm among those called for the meeting; whether some of them may also get fired. However, in the mantle of Secretary for War, Hegseth is not letting out what his operational order contains. One view is that the meeting is timed just before a possible government shutdown. But this is nonsense because the US Congress is wagging its tail to Trump. Similar situations have arisen in the past as well, including during the Joe Biden Administration, but have been resolved every time with the Congress allowing greater leeway. In the instant case, even if the Supreme Court declares Trump’s tariffs unconstitutional and the US has to return the money, it matters little if America’s external debt exceeding USD 37 trillion in September 2025 is increased by a few trillions more. Besides, more borrowing is possible and funding is reduced. Gold reserves don’t matter but the last full, physical audit of the gold reserves at Fort Knox was in 1953 – so no one will know who pocketed how much when. The judiciary anyway knows the murder rate around them and the possibilities of getting assassinated.
But speculation, including some wild and amusing, continues about the meeting's purpose and timing. Is this a prelude to Trump declaring him President for Life; acknowledging his dictatorial ambition and seeking full military support on pain of firing/elimination? Will these 800 high ranking military officers be administered an “Oath of Allegiance to Trump” – keeping the Constitution aside? Will the greetings in the military henceforth be ‘Heil Trump’ - just like Heil Hitler? Will the US military “also” support the Nazi ensign like the Ukrainian Azov units, because Trump has inherited Nazi genes from his grandfather who migrated to the US from Germany?
Native American leaders say Trump has enacted policies that actively hurt their community. While Native Americans’ criticism of Trump has largely been kept out of the national conversation, his decision to celebrate America’s 244th birthday with a showy display at Mount Rushmore during his first presidency put a spotlight on these disputes. He reduced the ‘Bears Ears National Monument, created at the request of Native Americans. He built a wall on the border with Mexico through a sacred burial ground of Native Americans and hung a portrait of former President Andrew Jackson in the Oval Office’ who forced thousands of Native Americans to relocate from the Southeast to the West on the “Trail of Tears.” Is Trump now wanting to wipe out the Native Americans once for all to prove they never existed – just like his name in the Epstein Files? After all, Native Americans numbered only 2.93 million in 2023, and after the carnage in Gaza of 680,000 deaths up to April 25, 2025 and 1.5 million Palestinians being forced to flee Gaza (https://www.thestrategicperspective.org/arab-islamic-nato/), where is the problem of eliminating all the Native Americans or forcing them to migrate elsewhere. Besides, the US did massacre some 3,000,000 Vietnamese during the war it waged on that country. Trump’s lullaby of a ceasefire in Gaza and ending Israel’s annexation of the West Bank is as hollow as his fakery of bringing peace in Ukraine.
On a more serious note, the meeting called by Hegseth is not just seeking the military’s loyalty for Trump but perhaps to warn all to be prepared for the difficult times ahead. By saying that Kiev can win back its lost territory, continuing to arm Ukraine, Kiev, asking NATO countries to target Russian jets entering their airspace (which is all fictitious), impervious to 26 NATO-EU countries prepared to send troops to Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky warning President Vladimir Putin that Moscow will be targeted, and Trump warning Putin of additional sanctions to cripple Russian economy; all point to Trump’s decision to permanentize the war in Ukraine (https://news4masses.com/permanentizing-russia-ukraine-war/); posing all around existential threat to Russia forever.
Zelensky says he will hold elections and himself not contest; knowing not only the war is unlikely to end, it will likely aggravate. The US has moved nuclear assets to the UK. It is no secret that even the Joe Biden administration wanted its proxy to instigate Putin into a nuclear war with Europe; to cripple Moscow/Russia more while hoping to keep the American mainland safe. Trump is obviously working on the same strategy. Keir Starmer, British PM has said that tankers carrying Russian oil will be targeted. Connecting these dots indicates how the war will escalate and go out of control. With Trump unable to stop EU from buying Russian oil, ships carrying Russian oil and Russian pipelines will become targets. Wants to sit on the fence and watch the fun of the escalation, even if it turns nuclear?
Trump hosted Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Asim Minir at the White House, in presence to Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Before the meeting, Trump told journalists at the Oval Office “In fact, we have a great leader coming, the Prime Minister of Pakistan (is) coming, and the Field Marshal (of) Pakistan. (The) Field Marshal is a very great guy, and so is the Prime Minister, both. And they're coming” Sharif lauded Trump during the meeting for his “bold, courageous and decisive leadership” in “facilitating the Pakistan-India ceasefire”. Trump had already also hosted Asim Munir at the White House earlier. All this indicates America's duplicity - while it hosts the allies against Israel, it hails Netanyahu as a war hero. Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has said that Tehran would not accept any unfair pressure over its nuclear program and warned such moves could escalate tensions.
Concurrently, Trump has slashed tariffs, extended the tariff pause and softened his stance on China, praised President Xi Jinping as a “strong leader”, floated the idea of a US-China summit and is planning to visit China in early 2026, to reset relations with Beijing. All because China’s dominance in rare earths needed to produce everything from electric vehicles to missile guidance systems; with US industries heavily reliant on Chinese supply, these minerals have become a decisive factor in the trade standoff. Interestingly, China is actively discouraging the use of Nvidia's H20 processor, the most advanced US chip currently allowed for export to China; analysts view this as a public show that Beijing is becoming less reliant on the US for high-end technology.
A congressional group of lawmakers of the US House of Representatives led by Republican Adam Smith visiting China recently was received by China’s Prime Minister Li Qiang. Li welcomed the delegates and called it an "icebreaking trip that will further the ties between the two countries." "It is important for our two countries to have more exchanges and cooperation, this is not only good for our two countries but also of great significance to the world," Li said. Notably, the US lawmakers pushed for more military-to-military dialogue. The US may be hoping that through increased military-to-military interaction, it can get an indication of when China plans to seize Taiwan.
Given Trump’s recklessness and unstable state of mind, he would probably accelerate the war in Ukraine, together with attacking Iran, banking more on kinetic involvement and keeping mainland US uninvolved. At the same time, he will try his level best to dissuade China from opening the Taiwan front while these two wars are raging. Hegseth’s in-person meeting with senior US military commanders perhaps is in this context.
The author is an Indian Army veteran. Views expressed are personal.
