Pentagon says it dismantled 80 campus groups

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon designated Confucius Institute-linked successor organizations as national security threats and dismantled 80 groups at 30 universities over the preceding two months. Hegseth announced the designation in a video posted on October 23. He said the groups had returned under different names and charters after Congress and federal funding restrictions helped drive Confucius Institutes from many U.S. campuses. The Pentagon has not publicly identified all 80 organizations. Hegseth alleged the successor groups continued the same mission as the institutes, including stealing intellectual property and influencing students. The supplied reporting does not independently establish those allegations, and his announcement did not present concrete evidence substantiating the alleged conduct. Chinese officials have previously denied related accusations; the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this announcement. The announcement followed a Pentagon directive issued in August to 30 academic institutions, according to one account. The directive called for reviews of academic, financial and research...