President Trump wanted a Department of War. Days later, he got what could be the start of World War III.

On Sept. 5, Trump signed an executive order to reinstate the name “Department of War,” which had been archived since the Department of Defense was created by the National Security Act of 1947.

At the name-change signing, “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth acted with his usual “warrior ethos,” spouting aggressive, rehearsed phrases about how the revived name conveyed “maximum lethality, not tepid legality” and “violent effect, not politically correct,” to warn our enemies that “We’re gonna raise up warriors. Not just defenders.”

A White House fact sheet stated the name change will “signal to adversaries America’s readiness to wage war to secure its interests.”

Trump’s “readiness to wage war” is about to be tested. On Tuesday evening, NATO forces successfully scrambled jets to shoot down Russian drones that breached Polish airspace.

Since last Friday’s lethal name change, America’s most formidable adversaries, China and Russia, have been quiet about Trump’s new strategic message. That raises the question whether the Russian-launched drones over Poland were their “public statement.” Consider last week’s curious timeline.

On Sept. 2, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a powerful statement showcasing his own “maximum lethality” by hosting an impressive military parade in Beijing. The display featured an abundance of advanced weaponry and over 10,000 highly........

© The Hill