Turner Gives Hegseth Chance To Say DOD Doesn't Have Plans To Invade Greenland, He Declines

Forbes Breaking News

At a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) questioned Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth about possible plans to invade Greenland and Panama.

Transcript

00:00from Ohio. Mr. Turner. Mr. Secretary, thank you for your written statement and also thank you for

00:06your recognition of the importance of our nuclear deterrent and specifically our investment in our

00:12modernization of our nuclear deterrent. We are behind, as you know, in the modernization of our

00:17nuclear stockpile. Your recognition of our investment in our triad and our command and

00:23control is incredibly important. Thank you also for your recognition of the importance of our

00:29future investment in missile defense and the importance that the Golden Dome will play.

00:36The Secretary General of NATO has recently made statements of his concern of Russia's future

00:44attempt to place an anti-satellite nuclear weapon into space. Specifically, he has said,

00:51we are aware of reports that Russia is examining the possibility of placing nuclear weapons in space.

00:57This is very worrying. Space is also very important for our deterrence and defense. Just as important

01:03as land, sea, air, and cyberspace. In recent years, space has become increasingly clouded,

01:10dangerous, and unpredictable. We know that competition in space is fierce. I recently had

01:16the opportunity to speak to him. He was at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in my community

01:20as we were commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Peace Accords. His concern was that this is not

01:26getting worldwide enough of attention. We had General Saltzman recently in front of the committee. He has

01:32characterized that if Russia were to place an anti-satellite nuclear weapon into space,

01:37that that would be day zero. That if that was put in space, that next day, that it would be irresponsible

01:44for us to count on space, that we would have to spend trillions of dollars and seek technology

01:50that we don't have, to find solutions as an alternative to space, both commercially, for military,

01:57and really to redo what is really society today. As you know, it would affect both our nuclear deterrence,

02:06our efforts for missile defense, even our investments in Golden Dome.

02:10In this venue, obviously, we can't discuss

02:14all of the details of what we're doing, but I would ask if you

02:18would please confirm that this is a threat that is a priority

02:22to the Department of Defense, as it has been characterized by the Secretary-General of NATO,

02:27and acknowledge that as it is a priority, it is a priority for us

02:30to prevent the deployment of nuclear weapons in space, and that it is

02:34a priority for us to work with our allies to uphold our commitment

02:38to the Outer Space Nuclear Treaty that prohibits the deployment

02:42of nuclear weapons in space. Sir.

02:44Well, thank you for the question, sir. As you alluded to, there are a number of aspects

02:50to this question or answer that can't be discussed here, but I would underline

02:56our complete commitment to the space domain, to the hardening of the space domain,

03:00to prevention of escalations in the space domain, but most importantly,

03:04to the dominance of the space domain. I mean, that is, it is

03:08the future of how we see. It's the future

03:10of how we sense. It could be the future

03:12of how our adversaries fight and how

03:14we deal with that.

03:16So, I think President Trump, yet again,

03:18was ahead of the curve when he created the Space Force

03:20in his first administration. People said we didn't

03:22need it. We are

03:24relying on it every single day now to

03:26ensure, alongside Space Force

03:28and private enterprise,

03:30that we're delivering the capabilities we need

03:32that are resilient, that are redundant,

03:34that are capable

03:36of all aspects

03:38of all domain warfare

03:40if necessary. And

03:42preventing adversaries from gaining an advantage

03:44is a huge part of how we look at space.

03:46This threat is not classified.

03:48Russia's threat of

03:50deploying an anti-space,

03:52an anti-satellite nuclear

03:54weapon in space is not classified.

03:56Obviously, this is a priority to the Department

03:58of Defense, and I just want your confirmation

04:00that this is a priority that you're

04:02tracking, and you too see that as a

04:04threat to the United States, and certainly

04:06to the United States

04:08and our space

04:10infrastructure,

04:12and certainly

04:14our whole national security infrastructure.

04:16We track all potential

04:18escalations. Yes, sir.

04:20And

04:22while you're here, I just want to help you out,

04:24people try to

04:26twist your words.

04:28You are not confirming in your testimony

04:30today that at

04:32the Pentagon there are plans

04:34for invading

04:36or taking by force Greenland,

04:38correct? That is not your testimony today.

04:40All my testimony

04:42is, is that the Pentagon has

04:44plans for any number of contingencies.

04:46It is not your testimony today that there are

04:48plans at the Pentagon for taking by force

04:50or invading Greenland, correct?

04:52Because I'm sure as hell hope

04:54that it is not your testimony.

04:56We look forward to working with Greenland

04:58to ensure that it is secured

05:00from any potential threats.

05:02Excellent. I'll get back.

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