The United States is undergoing one of its most dramatic strategic pivots in decades, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers a sweeping rejection of America’s long-standing post-Cold War idealism. Speaking at the Reagan Forum, Hegseth declared the end of an era he described as “utopian”, replacing it with a hard-nosed, realism-first doctrine designed to secure U.S. interests in an increasingly fractured world. Under this emerging blueprint, Washington is shifting toward a Western-Hemisphere-first military posture, doubling down on border patrol operations, Caribbean strike missions and great-power spheres of influence. WATCH