August 11, 2026

Good morning! Today is Tuesday, August 11th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's push to end tenure and rewrite curricula at America's war colleges draws cautious praise from reformers, who tell Kelley Beaucar Vlahos the deeper rot—ticket-punching sabbaticals, 95 percent graduation rates, and a culture rewarding conformity over judgment—will survive his crusade against wokeness. Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the U.S.-backed fifteen-point Gaza plan linking Hamas disarmament to Israeli withdrawal, telling his cabinet that no Palestinian state will be established on his watch, even as Hamas reaffirms its commitment to the roadmap and mediators press for compliance. and now for the details. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is pushing sweeping changes at the nation's service academies and war colleges, seeking to end tenure for instructors and impose a line-by-line review of curricula to align teaching with what he calls tactical, operational, and strategic combat leadership. But a range of current and former military educators and senior officers say the reforms, while welcome in some respects, miss the deeper rot in professional military education. As Kelley Beaucar Vlahos reports for The American Conservative, sources across the war college system describe institutions that have become ticket-punching sabbaticals, with graduation rates north of 95 percent and a culture that rewards conformity over independent judgment. Retired Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor called the failing strategy in the ongoing Iran War a massive indictment of the entire military system, arguing top commanders should have been rigorously schooled to push back against unworkable plans. Former Naval War College professor Lyle Goldstein told TAC the most hawkish instructors were promoted fastest, isolating those who took a more nuanced view of American power. Retired Major Donald Vandergriff said the schools produce officers who are process-compliant rather than outcomes-focused. West Point law professor Tim Bakken, who recently prevailed in a lawsuit against the academy over a speech policy, warned that curbing faculty speech in the name of a warfighter ethos could damage critical thinking as much as the diversity mandates the administration is trying to root out. Vlahos also notes structural problems Hegseth hasn't addressed: roughly 70 percent of academy graduates leave before a 20-year career, up to a quarter of undergraduates are recruited as athletes, and Congress is now weighing looser waivers to send academy football players directly to the NFL rather than serve their five-year commitment. Macgregor's verdict: the single-service war college belongs in a museum next to the woolly mammoth. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected the U.S.-backed fifteen-point plan to link Hamas disarmament in Gaza to a phased Israeli withdrawal, a proposal President Trump had called a monumental step toward lasting peace and security. Netanyahu told his cabinet that Israel does not accept the document, insisting Israeli forces would not withdraw until Hamas surrendered all weaponry, heavy and light. He also rejected the plan's language on a credible pathway toward Palestinian self-determination and statehood, declaring that as long as he is prime minister, a Palestinian state will not be established. As Joseph Addington reports, the roadmap was unveiled July 30th by the Board of Peace, the body Trump established to oversee the Gaza ceasefire. It gave the two sides two weeks to work out sequencing, but Hamas wants Israel to halt operations and begin withdrawing immediately, while Israel demands full disarmament first. Hamas on Sunday reaffirmed its commitment to the roadmap and called on mediators to press Israel to comply. Netanyahu said his government would continue talks with Washington but would oppose even its closest allies when he judged Israeli security to require it. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.