Latest news with #WPSAct
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion - Trump signed the law creating ‘Women, Peace, and Security.' Why destroy it now?
At a time of rising global threats, it is reckless to undermine a proven national security tool. Yet that's exactly what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did when he announced the elimination of Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) at the Department of Defense and dismissed the WPS agenda as 'woke.' He couldn't be more wrong — and dangerously so. WPS is not some fringe initiative, it's the law of the land. It was created with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed by President Trump in 2017. Republicans backing it included then-Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) (now secretary of Homeland Security) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) (now secretary of State) championed the law in Congress. It also had strong Democratic leadership with prime sponsors Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). The law reflected a strategic truth: when women are at the table — in national security decision-making, conflict prevention, peace negotiations and reconstruction efforts — peace tends to last longer, communities recover faster and missions are more effective. This isn't a feel-good theory; it is sound policy backed by decades of research and the hard realities of conflict zones, where women are often the first responders, last line of defense for families, and unfortunately, an afterthought. In places where rape is used as a weapon of war and instability rips communities apart, women aren't bystanders. Women rebuild schools, lead reconciliation efforts and restore order. The WPS Act acknowledges their role and requires four U.S. agencies to elevate it through training, interagency strategies and congressional oversight. At the Department of Defense, WPS efforts give us an advantage over our competitors and an edge on the battlefield. WPS advances women's meaningful participation in the military, establishing dedicated advisors across Department of Defense offices, and integrating with allies and partners. Thanks to this work, American servicemembers are better equipped to tackle their missions with a whole-of-population approach. Destroying the work of WPS defies law, data and experience. Concerningly, it hands our adversaries a win by sidelining half our population from global problem-solving. Women's leadership in peace and security isn't about ideology. It's about impact. WPS makes us safer. Stronger. Smarter. President Trump should instruct his Cabinet to respect the law he signed. And Congress must continue to fund these efforts. Women, Peace, and Security isn't just smart policy. It's the law, and it's vital to our national interest. Lois Frankel represents Florida's 22nd District and is co-chair of the bipartisan Women, Peace, and Security Caucus. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Hill
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump signed the law creating ‘Women, Peace, and Security.' Why destroy it now?
At a time of rising global threats, it is reckless to undermine a proven national security tool. Yet that's exactly what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did when he announced the elimination of Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) at the Department of Defense and dismissed the WPS agenda as 'woke.' He couldn't be more wrong — and dangerously so. WPS is not some fringe initiative, it's the law of the land. It was created with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed by President Trump in 2017. Republicans backing it included then-Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) (now secretary of Homeland Security) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) (now secretary of State) championed the law in Congress. It also had strong Democratic leadership with prime sponsors Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). The law reflected a strategic truth: when women are at the table — in national security decision-making, conflict prevention, peace negotiations and reconstruction efforts — peace tends to last longer, communities recover faster and missions are more effective. This isn't a feel-good theory; it is sound policy backed by decades of research and the hard realities of conflict zones, where women are often the first responders, last line of defense for families, and unfortunately, an afterthought. In places where rape is used as a weapon of war and instability rips communities apart, women aren't bystanders. Women rebuild schools, lead reconciliation efforts and restore order. The WPS Act acknowledges their role and requires four U.S. agencies to elevate it through training, interagency strategies and congressional oversight. At the Department of Defense, WPS efforts give us an advantage over our competitors and an edge on the battlefield. WPS advances women's meaningful participation in the military, establishing dedicated advisors across Department of Defense offices, and integrating with allies and partners. Thanks to this work, American servicemembers are better equipped to tackle their missions with a whole-of-population approach. Destroying the work of WPS defies law, data and experience. Concerningly, it hands our adversaries a win by sidelining half our population from global problem-solving. Women's leadership in peace and security isn't about ideology. It's about impact. WPS makes us safer. Stronger. Smarter. President Trump should instruct his Cabinet to respect the law he signed. And Congress must continue to fund these efforts. Women, Peace, and Security isn't just smart policy. It's the law, and it's vital to our national interest.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A Commander's Case for Women, Peace, and Security
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE PETE HEGSETH claims to be focused on 'lethality' and 'the warfighter,' yet he just proudly announced the end of a program that saves American lives and helps us win fights. 'This morning,' he said on April 29, 'I proudly ENDED the 'Women, Peace & Security' (WPS) program inside the @DeptofDefense,' calling it 'yet another woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative that overburdens our commanders and troops—distracting from our core task: WAR-FIGHTING. WPS is a UNITED NATIONS program pushed by feminists and left-wing activists. Politicians fawn over it; troops HATE it.' First, the secretary seems to have overpromised. He's not ending the program, which is required by law, but, he explained, merely 'executive [sic] the minimum of WPS required by statute.' An anonymous administration official further walked back Hegseth's announcement in a statement to the Washington Post: ''Ending' refers to ending the Biden administration's woke WPS initiatives and returning the program to its original intent.' This shouldn't be surprising, considering the secretary of state, the secretary of homeland security, the national security advisor, and the president are all proud supporters of WPS. Second, I commanded one of the key initiatives that informed the WPS strategy and later the WPS Act, which codified in law the government's commitment to involving women in matters of war, peace, and security, and I have serious doubts about whether the program overburdened the force, distracted from 'war-fighting,' and irritated the troops. To support The Bulwark's mission, join our community, and get the best coverage of Trump 2.0 available anywhere, become a Bulwark+ member. IN 2008, I WAS COMMANDING THE 1ST Armored Division in northern Iraq when we began seeing a disturbing and confounding trend: an uptick in suicide bombings carried out by Iraqi women. A series of these attacks were executed in crowded markets, polling stations, and police checkpoints—places where the U.S.-Iraqi security posture was already strained. What made this tactic so effective, and so deadly, was that in traditional Iraqi society, male soldiers and police were prohibited from touching or searching women. And there weren't any female Iraqi police officers to close that gap. Al Qaeda in Iraq knew that our lack of women was a weakness. And they exploited it. At first, our intelligence analysts didn't fully understand the dynamics. We couldn't figure out why women were now involved in this al Qaeda network of death. It wasn't just tactical adaptation—it was social manipulation. Throughout our fifteen-month tour, fighting the insurgency didn't just mean lobbing ordnance at bad guys. We were also engaged in a broad campaign to improve governance in northern Iraq by helping local officials develop capacity in law, health, education, and justice. To defeat an insurgency, it's not enough just to destroy the enemy; a successful counterinsurgency force must also contribute to the advancement of the society. Our efforts were seeing progress, as rule of law, education, healthcare, and even business initiatives were countering the terrorist message. But I had neglected a key part of the Iraqi society: the women. The idea that eventually broke the problem came from a junior female soldier, who suggested something unusual: 'Sir, we should also hold a women's conference; they have a say in their future society, too.' It was, admittedly, an unconventional idea in a male-centric society. But I gave the task to all the female soldiers in our division to pull it off, and a few weeks later, we held that conference in Erbil with more than four hundred women from all of the provinces in northern Iraq—Arab and Kurdish. Get 30 day free trial Iraqi women—political leaders, educators, clerics, and civil society figures—gathered to talk about their role in securing their communities. My wife, Sue, opened the conference by addressing the group (through an interpreter) via a satellite video link from Germany. I was one of only two men in attendance, and it sent a clear message that my wife, not I or any other man, was opening the meeting. I was extremely proud when she said, 'We women must do more to stop the violence,' and the Iraqi women cheered. The spark came during the lunch break. One of the women approached me quietly and said, 'We can help stop the bombings. But we need you to help get Iraqi women recruits into our police academies.' We had built and were operating multiple police academies to train Iraq's next generation of male security forces. But the idea of allowing women to enroll—especially to take on active policing roles—met deep resistance from the Iraqi chief of police and the minister of the interior in Baghdad. Eventually, both relented. We started small: 27 women were enrolled. They graduated weeks later. Within months, more than 60 female officers were operating in public spaces across Diyala, Kirkuk, and Salah ad-Din provinces. They became the key to breaking the suicide-vest network. The breakthrough came when one of the rookie policewomen stopped a 15-year-old girl named Rania from entering a crowded market. Prevented from detonating her vest, she told interrogators she had been drugged and pushed toward a checkpoint by her own mother—a widow of a slain al Qaeda fighter. It turned out that many of the women wearing these vests were widows of slain al Qaeda fighters who had been told, after their husbands' deaths, there was nothing left for them. No future. No food. No marriage. No status. Many had been forced as teenagers into marrying Iraqi or foreign fighters in the first place and so faced a double social sanction: One for having been married to a terrorist, and another for being a young widow. 'Join your husband in the afterlife,' they were told, 'and in the process you can take as many infidels with you as you can.' We briefed Iraqi officials about Rania's testimony, emphasizing that many of these suicide bombers weren't valiant martyrs but abused and coerced victims of terrorism. Their story eventually became a major topic of discussion in Iraqi society, especially after a female radio host dubbed the policewomen 'Doves of Peace.' This wasn't just good counterterrorism—it was community transformation. By the time 1st Armored rotated home, not only was the female suicide-vest cell almost completely destroyed, but the overall level of violence in northern Iraq was down significantly and the Iraqi security forces were able to take the lead. Get 30 day free trial WHILE OUR EXPERIENCE in northern Iraq antedated the WPS strategy and the later WPS Act, it is precisely the kind of success story envisioned by the bipartisan champions of the program. Across many departments and agencies of the federal government, the program has four pillars: Participation: Ensuring women's meaningful involvement in decision-making about peace and security. Protection: Safeguarding women and girls from violence, coercion, and exploitation. Prevention: Addressing the root causes of conflict through inclusive and equitable approaches. Relief and Recovery: Promoting the roles of women in stabilizing communities and rebuilding post-conflict societies. Each of these principles was present in what we did in northern Iraq in 2008. And the result was not a 'woke distraction'—it was lives saved, violence deterred, and long-term security effectuated. Share With due respect to Secretary Hegseth, his definition of lethality is troublingly narrow. Yes, lethality can be found in a rifle shot or a perfectly executed combined-arms maneuver. But at the strategic level—where battles are shaped, alliances are built, and where 'warfighting' serves aims that promote American interests—lethality also depends on the ability to secure populations, disrupt enemy networks, and build coalitions of trust. Empowering women in conflict zones is not a 'soft' strategy—it's a force multiplier. It produces better intelligence, enhances legitimacy, and reduces the grievances that feed insurgency. We did not set out to create a women's rights movement in Iraq. We were trying to stop the killing. And we succeeded, because we recognized that the path to security runs through society, not just the battlefield. Our female soldiers weren't intent on empowering women for ideological reasons, but because they knew they might be uniquely positioned to solve a problem that men could not. That insight wasn't unique to our war. As Kathleen McInnes of the Center for Strategic and International Studies has pointed out, In Afghanistan, for example, U.S. Female Engagement Teams helped tactical and operational level commanders better understand the human terrain of battle spaces, therefore improving kinetic and non-kinetic targeting. Simultaneously, partner forces also became aware that the intentional presence of women in kinetic fights could have a strategic impact. Kurdish women's units were fierce fighters against the Islamic State in part due to their combat effectiveness but also because of the reputational damage to Islamic State fighters being forced to fight—and lose—to women. In Ukraine, upwards of 60,000 women are serving in the military, including on the front lines, and women's networks are critical components of anti-Russian resistance networks. That is what WPS stands for: the strategic inclusion of half the population in the fight against instability, terror, conflict and chaos. The WPS program reflects the reality that modern combat is not simply about force and lethality—it is about legitimacy, alliances, information, and the ability to create peaceful solutions that endure. Killing this program won't make the U.S. military more lethal. But it might make it half blind. Share
Epoch Times
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Hegseth Touts End of ‘Woke' Women's Program Backed by First Trump Admin
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday announced he is scrapping a women's leadership program implemented during President Donald Trump's first term. The program is operated by the United Nations and is 'pushed by feminists and left-wing activists,' according to the defense secretary. 'This morning, I proudly ENDED the 'Women, Peace & Security' (WPS) program inside the [Department of Defense],' Hegseth wrote in a Hegseth said that 'politicians fawn' over the program but troops 'hate' it. The WPS program was developed in response to the Women, Peace, and Security Act, which Trump signed into law on Oct. 6, 2017. The Trump administration at the time The law, outlined by the U.N. Security Council and adopted as in a Related Stories 4/25/2025 4/24/2025 Ivanka said in a Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem co-sponsored the WPS Act when she represented South Dakota in Congress. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who co-wrote the 2017 bill with then-Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Amy McGrath, the first woman to fly a combat mission for the Marine Corps, argued in a Hegseth later Tuesday appeared to Tuesday's announcement aligns with the Trump administration's efforts to end federal diversity initiatives across the government. It also aligns with the efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency to slash government waste and abuse. Hegseth declared he would 'fight to end the program for our next budget.' The Pentagon did not provide specific details on how much the initiative costs. From NTD News
Daily Mail
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Pete Hegseth accidentally roasts Noem and Rubio as he shuts down 'woke' Pentagon program
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth canceled a program that sought to increase the role of women in national security sectors that was first signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2017. In a move that was meant to target the previous Biden administration, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth instead found himself torching key members of Donald Trump 's own cabinet as he vowed to gut a Pentagon initiative focused on women's roles in conflict prevention. On Tuesday, Hegseth announced that he would begin dismantling the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) program, a defense-wide initiative that promotes women's participation in peace-building efforts and national security planning. The program was signed into law by President Trump in 2017, the WPS Act had bipartisan backing and global acclaim, but in a scorching post on X, Hegseth dismissed the effort entirely. 'Yet another woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative that overburdens our commanders and troops - distracting from our core task: WAR-FIGHTING,' Hegseth tweeted. He didn't stop there. Hegseth labeled the WPS initiative as a ' UNITED NATIONS program pushed by feminists and left-wing activists,' vowing the Pentagon would only comply with the bare minimum requirements under federal statute before lobbying Congress to kill the program outright. But in aiming at 'wokeness,' Hegseth overlooked a crucial detail: the program wasn't a Biden-era initiative but was in fact created and codified by the previous Trump administration. The program has even been celebrated by Trump, his administration and his family. On Tuesday, Hegseth announced that he would begin dismantling the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) program, a defense-wide initiative that promotes women's participation in peace-building efforts and national security planning It became a heralded part of the first Trump administration's accomplishments for women, and in 2019, Ivanka Trump celebrated that the WPS program was starting a new partnership to help train female police cadets in Colombia. In a later post, Hegseth wrote a post saying, without evidence the program was 'straight-forward & security-focused' but that it had been 'distorted & weaponized' by the Biden administration. He confirmed his intention to end it. At the time of its introduction it received significant help from Trump's closest allies, including Kristi Noem and Marco Rubio, both now prominent cabinet officials in Trump's second term. But Hegseth's inadvertently scorched the very figures expected to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him in the administration's ideological war against 'wokeness.' Kristi Noem, now Homeland Security Secretary, was the lead author of the House version of the 2017 Women, Peace, and Security Act when she served in Congress. At the time, she introduced the bill alongside progressive Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois). Marco Rubio, Secretary of State and former senator from Florida, co-sponsored the Senate version of the same law and hailed Trump's signature on it as a historic moment. Even as recently as this month, Rubio celebrated the WPS Act as 'the first law passed by any country in the world focused on protecting women and promoting their participation in society.' The legislation stemmed from a resolution unanimously endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, the most powerful UN body, in October 2000, aimed at including women in peacebuilding efforts because women and girls have historically borne the brunt of global conflict. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, another staunch Trump ally, previously co-chaired the bipartisan Women, Peace and Security Caucus in Congress and supported efforts to expand the program. Hegseth's post drew fire from Democratic lawmakers who are continuing to question his qualifications for the job following his use of the commercial app Signal to share sensitive military operations with other officials, his wife and brother. Many Democrats and national security veterans accused him of willfully ignoring both the program's origins and its track record. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire), who co-authored the Senate version of the bill with Rubio, issued a blistering statement. 'It's startling that just because the word 'women' is in the title, this evidence-based security program has been reduced to a DEI program,' Shaheen said. 'This is a dangerous and disturbing pattern from the Secretary, who clearly does not listen to advice from senior military leaders.' Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) took aim at the credibility of Hegseth's claim that the military hates the program. 'The fact that he claims that it's a Biden issue when it is an initiative that was supported unanimously by a Republican majority of the Senate and 'troops hate it' when the newly confirmed head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff testifies to its value, I find shocking,' Kaine said. Indeed, that military leader, Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, Trump's nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, spoke favorably of the WPS program during his recent confirmation hearing, lauding its role in creating more stable post-conflict environments and strengthening US national security. 'When we would go out into the field after concluding an assault, we would have female members who would speak with those women and children who were on the objective, and they would help us to understand the human terrain in a new and novel way,' Caine said during his April confirmation hearing. Trump met and became endeared to Caine when Caine was serving in Iraq, part of the reason Trump nominated him to the chairmanship. Despite the program's bipartisan history and continued endorsements from military brass, Hegseth is pressing forward. He insisted in his post that social justice frameworks have no place in military planning and accused the Pentagon of being 'distracted from its core task.' But critics say Hegseth's real distraction may be his obsession with performative anti-woke crusades, even if it means taking aim at his own administration's accomplishments. As of Tuesday evening, neither Rubio nor Noem had responded publicly to Hegseth's remarks. It's the latest controversial move from Hegseth as the Pentagon works to nix programs or content seen as promoting diversity, equity or inclusion. After Trump ordered federal agencies to purge DEI content, the Pentagon issued a broad edict to the military services that ignited public outcry when online images of national heroes like Jackie Robinson were briefly removed.
