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A woman and a man in uniform sitting. She listens as he speaks.

Now retired Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, speaks alongside NBC news reporter Andrea Mitchell at the 2017 Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. (Department of Defense)

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has abruptly canceled its participation at the Aspen Security Forum, stopping defense leaders from speaking at the high-profile national security conference because the event is not aligned with the goals of the Defense Department since President Donald Trump started his second term in office.

“The department will remain strong in its focus to increase the lethality of our warfighters, revitalize the warrior ethos and project peace through strength on the world stage. It is clear the ASF is not in alignment with these goals,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.

The forum has routinely included senior Pentagon leaders, service chiefs, other top officials from the State Department and the National Security Council, as well as foreign defense leaders. Republican and Democratic administrations for years have attended the conference, which begins Tuesday. The Pentagon on Monday canceled its participation in the annual event.

The conference is in Aspen, Colo., for four days. Founded in 2010, it is touted as the premier national security and foreign policy conference in the United States, according to its website.

Navy Secretary John Phelan and Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, were among the speakers scheduled to appear at the conference.

“For more than a decade, the Aspen Security Forum has welcomed senior officials — Republican and Democrat, civilian and military — as well as senior foreign officials and experts, who bring experience and diverse perspectives on matters of national security,” the forum said in a statement issued Monday. “We will miss the participation of the Pentagon, but our invitations remain open.”

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Matthew Adams covers the Defense Department at the Pentagon. His past reporting experience includes covering politics for The Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle and The News and Observer. He is based in Washington, D.C.

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