Pete Hegseth and His ‘Battle Cry’ for a New Christian Crusade

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The veteran picked to lead the Defense Department has praised the brutal religious military campaigns of the past and has called for a Christian approach to governing.

In his book, “American Crusade,” Pete Hegseth wrote, “We don’t want to fight, but, like our fellow Christians one thousand years ago, we must.” | Kenny Holston/The New York Times
Before Donald J. Trump picked him to lead the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth spoke often about a medieval military campaign that he saw as a model for today: the Crusades, in which Christian warriors from Western Europe embarked on ruthless missions to wrest control of Jerusalem and other areas under Muslim rule.

As he embraced a combative brand of Christianity in recent years, he wrote that people who enjoy the benefits of Western civilization should “thank a Crusader.” On his arm, he has a tattoo with the words “Deus Vult,” which he has described as a “battle cry” of the Crusades.

“Voting is a weapon, but it’s not enough,” he wrote in a book, “American Crusade,” published in May 2020. “We don’t want to fight, but, like our fellow Christians one thousand years ago, we must.”

Mr. Trump has so far stuck by Mr. Hegseth as his nominee for secretary of defense despite a growing series of disclosures about his past, including allegations of sexual impropriety, alcohol abuse and financial mismanagement. Mr. Hegseth has vigorously denied the allegations, calling them an attempt to disrupt Mr. Trump’s agenda. » | Mike Baker and Ruth Graham | Thursday, December 5, 2024

The First Crusade, the True Story
eKATHIMERINI: On November 27, 1095, Pope Urban II stood up at the Council of Clermont in central France to make an important announcement. Persians (by whom he meant the Turks), “a people rejected by God,” had risen up against the Christians in the East, he said. It was imperative for the knighthood of Europe to rush to defend their brethren. Take up arms, he urged, and defend the faithful who were suffering unspeakable deeds at the hands of the oppressors.

The story of the First Crusade has remained largely the same ever since. The expedition that eventually reached and captured Jerusalem in 1099 was conceived by the pope, who seized the chance to encourage men in Western Europe (above all France) to march to drive the Turks back from major Christian sites. It is a story that was commemorated in chronicles, poems and songs almost as soon as the Crusaders reached the Holy City; and it is a story that has been told for generations ever since.

And yet, underneath this tale of bravery, courage and devotion is the story of what really happened, a story that has been hidden in the mists: In the place of heroism is a tale of deception; in the place of honor is the breaking of some of the most sacred oaths in Christendom. At its heart lies the betrayal of the Byzantine Empire.

The speech made by the pope is so famous that it is rarely asked why he delivered it in the first place. Jerusalem, it should be remembered, fell to the Muslims many centuries before he gave his address. Why now, more than 450 years later, was there a sudden need to recover the city where Jesus Christ lived and was crucified?

The answer lies not in Rome or in Clermont, but in the imperial capital of Constantinople. In fact, it was in the heart of the Byzantine Empire that the expedition to the East was conceived; it was the emperor -- Alexios Komnenos -- who devised the campaign and took control of it; perhaps most importantly, it was specific strategic targets, set by the emperor, that the Crusade was designed to attack. » | Peter Frankopan* | Friday, February 24, 2012

Dr Peter Frankopan is director of the Center for Byzantine Research at Oxford University and author of “The First Crusade: The Call from the East,” published this spring by Random House and Harvard University Press.

Vatican Rethinks the Crusades
Image courtesy of Genealogy Source

THE Vatican has begun moves to rehabilitate the Crusaders by sponsoring a conference at the weekend that portrays the Crusades as wars fought with the “noble aim” of regaining the Holy Land for Christianity.

The Crusades are seen by many Muslims as acts of violence that have underpinned Western aggression towards the Arab world ever since. Followers of Osama bin Laden claim to be taking part in a latter-day “jihad against the Jews and Crusaders”. Read all of Richard Owen's article here: Vatican change of heart over 'barbaric' Crusades

Mark