The Pentagon withdrew many of its officials from their speaking engagements at the Aspen Security Forum this week, citing a clear difference in values between the conference and the administration.
“Senior Department of Defense officials will no longer be participating at the Aspen Security Forum because their values do not align with the values of the DoD,” Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement Monday. “The Department will remain strong in its focus to increase the lethality of our warfighters, revitalize the warrior ethos, and project Peace Through Strength on the world stage. It is clear the ASF is not in alignment with these goals.”
The conference, set to kick off on Tuesday, originally featured a slew of Department of Defense officials, including Navy Secretary John Phelan, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command leader Adm. Samuel J. Paparo, U.S. Space Command head Gen. Stephen N. Whiting and U.S. Special Operations Command head Army Gen. Bryan P. Fenton.
The speakers were slated to cover a wide range of topics from the impact of artificial intelligence on national security to cyber intelligence and geopolitics.
The Aspen Institute, which hosts the annual forum, said it was disappointed in the Pentagon’s decision, adding the offer to speak at the event is still on the table.
“For more than a decade, the Aspen Security Forum has welcomed senior officials — Republican and Democrat, civilian and military — as well as senior foreign officials and experts, who bring experience and diverse perspectives on matters of national security,” the Aspen Institute said in a statement. “This year, we extended invitations to senior Trump administration officials, including several cabinet-level leaders. … We will miss the participation of the Pentagon, but our invitations remain open.”
The Aspen Institute describes itself as a nonpartisan organization, and the forum has for years hosted speakers from both sides of the political aisle. In addition to the Trump administration officials who were scheduled to speak, former President Joseph R. Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is expected to appear with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who served under President George W. Bush.
The presence of former Biden and Bush officials seems to have rubbed the Pentagon the wrong way. Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told Just the News on Monday that the Aspen Security Forum’s perceived endorsement of globalism prompted the decision to withdraw its officials.
“The Department of Defense has no interest in legitimizing an organization that has invited former officials who have been the architects of chaos abroad and failure at home,” Just the News quoted Ms. Wilson. “They are antithetical to the America First values of this administration.”
