Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has a fascination with the Crusades, which he references through tattoos and his 2020 book 'American Crusade'. The final chapter is titled 'Make the Crusade Great Again'.
Pete Hegseth paints the Crusades as a 'defensive war' where Christianity had to react or face being overrun by Islam. However, professor of medieval history Matthew Gabriele calls this an extreme oversimplification of actual history.
This worldview may influence how Hegseth thinks about modern conflicts, potentially shaping US foreign policy and the future of the war in Iran.
Vox producer Nate Krieger investigated the actual history of the Crusades to understand its impact on US foreign policy and the war in Iran.