Former CNN special assignment correspondent and longtime Pentagon advisor Chuck de Caro offered a wide-ranging critique of U.S. defense posture, strategic communication failures, and the looming threat posed by China—not through military force, but through information warfare.
De Caro, who spent over two decades consulting for the Pentagon’s Office of Threat Assessment and once served with the 20th Special Forces Group, began by discussing the challenges facing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He praised Hegseth’s “warrior soul” but argued the Secretary is likely facing internal resistance from a Pentagon culture that de Caro characterized as “conservative in the worst sense”—resistant to innovation and slow to adapt to new forms of warfare.
Shifting to weapons technology, de Caro rejected the notion that the United States is lagging behind in hypersonic missile development. He pointed out that the U.S. began experimenting with hypersonic platforms as early as 1947 with Project Hermes II and continued development through the Cold War with programs like the Navajo missile and MARV (maneuvering reentry vehicles). While budget cuts and shifting strategic priorities have often shelved these programs, he emphasized that the technological foundation is well established.
The core focus of the conversation, however, was the evolution of global warfare. De Caro argued that the most potent threat from China is not military aggression, but information dominance. He cited the 1999 book Unrestricted Warfare by two Chinese military officers, which outlined a long-term strategy for undermining the United States through economic, diplomatic, and especially informational channels—all without direct conflict. According to de Caro, everything predicted in the book has since become Chinese policy.
De Caro warned that China’s approach to information warfare is strategic and long-term. Unlike Western governments that often shift personnel and priorities every few years, China has the patience and infrastructure to shape public perception over decades. He noted the U.S. once had a counterbalance in the form of the U.S. Information Agency, which was dismantled in the 1990s, and later efforts like the Office of Global Media under President Trump have failed to provide a sustained alternative.
Referencing his own media background, de Caro underscored how deeply misunderstood television and video-based storytelling are within defense and intelligence communities. He stressed that smartphones have become the new “television in your pocket,” shaping global narratives daily, and yet the U.S. lacks a coherent strategy for using or countering this medium in geopolitical competition.
The conversation later turned to the strategic logic behind missile defense, with de Caro endorsing the concept of a “Golden Dome” missile shield over the U.S., particularly as nuclear weapons become more accessible to nations like Iran and potentially Saudi Arabia. He noted that proliferation is likely inevitable, and the U.S. needs to prepare accordingly.
The interview concluded with a frank discussion of the war in Ukraine. De Caro said the real target in the conflict is not the battlefield itself but Russian President Vladimir Putin. He likened Putin’s predicament to that of Czar Nicholas II during the Russian Revolution: overstretched resources, a grinding war, and growing domestic unrest. Rather than focusing solely on military aid or escalation, de Caro argued that the West should work to destabilize Putin’s power base by increasing internal political pressure within Russia.
Throughout the conversation, de Caro wove together decades of historical knowledge, military experience, and media insight to deliver a sobering assessment of how the U.S. must rethink its defense and communication strategies in a world increasingly shaped by psychological operations, long-range influence campaigns, and digital perception management.