The US War Secretary Hegseth is finally in the spotlight, but with fame comes headaches. He was set to give a speech to 800 generals, only for President Trump to show up last minute and steal the show. Anyway, Hegseth started off as a nobody, but now he’s got tons of attention; many say he was caught off guard by the sudden fame.
The McNamara Comparison: Not Just Military, But Political Trust
Let’s talk about an American icon: McNamara. In 1943, he joined the US Army Air Corps as a math whiz, rising to captain. His job? Using statistical models to make air force bombing more effective. Post-war, he joined Ford, revamped their management, and by 45, became Ford’s president—second only to Henry Ford II. In 1961, Kennedy tapped him to be Secretary of Defense. Hegseth? He’s been in various wars, earned medals like the Bronze Star, served as an Afghanistan instructor in 2012, moving up to major.
Here’s the thing: as Defense Secretaries, Hegseth and McNamara had similar military creds. Critics say Hegseth’s just a junior officer and can’t be preaching to star generals. But back in 1965, General Westmoreland, the top Vietnam commander, had to report to McNamara. Big military moves had to get Johnson’s nod. So why bash Hegseth but not McNamara? Both started low in rank—what really matters is presidential trust. Without that, no one’s fit for the job.
Kennedy’s “Best and Brightest” — Then and Now
Speaking of McNamara, let’s not forget Kennedy. At 43, he was America’s youngest president ever, seeing himself as a fresh, new-gen leader. His cabinet was full of America’s brightest young minds, called “The Best and the Brightest.” In his inaugural, Kennedy said, “The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans” to lead the nation onward. He promised a “New Frontier”: ending segregation, reforming civil rights, pursuing peace, and taking humanity to space.
McNamara was the poster boy for Kennedy’s “Best and Brightest.” Plus, he held a Harvard MBA and made major WWII contributions, earning his spot among the “Blue Blood Ten,” America’s academic elite. Today, President Trump, a famous TV host by background, probably thinks Hegseth deserves a spot among the Best and Brightest too—he’s one of America’s top TV personalities.
The Flaws of the “Best and Brightest”
But here’s what you can question—the actual capability of America’s “Best and Brightest.” McNamara made grave strategic missteps in Vietnam, known in management circles as the “McNamara Fallacy.” This was his obsession with relying solely on quantitative data, which led to serious errors. He backed Westmoreland’s “carpet bombing” strategy—using B-52 Stratofortress bombers to relentlessly bomb North Vietnam. The flaw? Viet Cong often evacuated before strikes. McNamara still supported it, saying the goal wasn’t necessarily to destroy targets but to psychologically intimidate the enemy. The result? A humiliating US withdrawal after a decade.
So far, no “Hegseth Fallacy” has popped up, but calling Hegseth “The Best and the Brightest” feels off. It reminds me of the Western classic, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Not that Hegseth has Clint Eastwood’s style, but more like two of the three character types in that film—the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Deep Blue
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The “decapitation” hype just hit fever pitch. Here’s the bold new chatter: Japan’s defense officials told local media that if the Fujian carrier ever enters the Taiwan Strait, Japan’s Self-Defense Forces should team up with the US military and put sinking it at the top of their to-do list.
This is what some war games lay out: If China ever expands its strikes from Kyushu and Okinawa all the way down to the Nansei Islands—plus every US base along the chain—Japan would recoil into defensive mode. And then, Taiwan has no choice but to do the same, as well as the US. Suddenly Tokyo, Taipei, and Washington are all in the same foxhole. The old “defend Taiwan” story morphs into an East Asia mega-battle, where there’s zero daylight between countering threats to Taiwan and threats to Japan.
That’s why, as Taiwan commentator Lai Yi-chung pointed out back in July 2023, everyone needs ironclad, three-way security channels—whether defending Taiwan, Japan, or America.
Solid logic, the old Russian doll theory: If Taiwan’s in trouble, so is Japan, so is the US. Back under Abe, nerves in Tokyo were already frayed, serving the right wing a golden opportunity. When COVID still stalked the world in 2022, Japan mapped out a plan for 1,000 anti-ship missiles—that’s three for each of China’s 300 warships (now nearly 400, more than even America fields). Their message was clear: Chinese carriers are to be sunk before they ever manage to sail. Taiwan’s mainstream loved it. Double insurance from both the US and Japan, island stability—no need for unification nor independence. Case closed.
Then came reality—the Fujian carrier entered service, and shattered this stack of Russian dolls to dust. America sobered up first. The others? Not even worth a footnote.
Punchline to the War Game
Last weekend, China Central TV pulled back the curtain: “2 Seconds, 20+ Years—The Untold Grit Behind Fujian’s Launch.” Here’s the money quote from the expert: “Sure, our carrier jets can blast off in two seconds. But getting to that moment took more than 20 years of grit. At the start, plenty doubted. Foreign giants spent decades and still fell short. Could China pull it off? Turns out, yes we can.”
The narrative’s heart-tugging, but the real story is buried in the specs. Qiao Jia, who led the Fujian’s construction, spells it out: Unlike Liaoning or Shandong, the Fujian is China’s first homegrown, catapult-equipped aircraft carrier. And it doesn’t just use any catapult system—it’s the world’s first with a conventional-power electromagnetic catapult. Every inch of that tech pushed China’s engineers to the brink, and they didn’t blink.
Here’s the cold, hard takeaway: Don’t just stare at the Fujian in awe, or obsess over the road China traveled to get here. The killer fact is, after more than 20 years of grinding, China now owns this tech—and its world-class manufacturing machine means the next Fujian-level carrier could roll out in two years, one year, half a year, or even just two months.
No Magic, Just Muscle
Why should anyone take China at its word? Are the claims real—or just bluster? Against nonstop foreign skepticism and a wall of Western tech barricades, CCTV lays it bare: “We started from zero. No playbook. No shortcuts. Real power tech isn’t handed down or bought in a back room. Only by blazing new trails, daring to outdo the world, grinding in silence, and refusing to quit can we keep smashing ceilings—and locking core tech in Chinese hands.” In short, that “Made in China” label? It’s the one thing no rival can beat.
Let’s cut the magic act—there’s no David Copperfield here. Think Japan’s top brass wants to wait for a Trump comeback to “sink Fujian”? By all means, keep waiting. If you’ve got the nerve, then step up and show us.
