President Donald Trump’s tariffs have upended global trade. Now, his National Security Strategy officially upends global partnerships the U.S. and its European allies have enjoyed for 80 years since the end of World War II.
The U.S. will now overlook Arab countries’ human rights violations to facilitate more commerce, but the U.S. will pressure World War II allies to the far right by “cultivating resistance” to established political parties and promoting “patriotic” extremist groups like Alternative for Germany, reported The New York Times.
“After the end of the Cold War, American foreign policy elites convinced themselves that permanent American domination of the entire world was in the best interests of our country,” says the Trump administration document. “Yet the affairs of other countries are our concern only if their activities directly threaten our interests.”
“The affairs of other countries are our concern only if their activities directly threaten our interests.”
Presidents release one National Security Strategy each term to explain how the country’s leaders perceive the world’s challenges and how they will respond to them. Trump’s “America First” strategy, released last week, sounds more friendly to Moscow than to America’s NATO partners.
“The days of the United States propping up the entire world order like Atlas are over,” says the strategy, citing a mythological figure. “Our goal should be to help Europe correct its current trajectory.”
“Should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. … We want Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence, and to abandon its failed focus on regulatory suffocation.”
World leaders have reviewed Trump’s strategy and the reviews are coming in, reported The New York Times and Washington Post:
- “It’s a frontal attack on the European Union,” said Brando Benifei, an Italian member of the European Parliament. He said the U.S. was calling for “election interference” in NATO countries.
- “Dear American friends, Europe is your closest ally, not your problem,” posted Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
- “The only part of the world where the new (U.S.) security strategy sees any threat to democracy seems to be Europe,” said a former Swedish leader.
But the strategy received a favorable response from Russian President Vladimir Putin. A Putin spokesman said Trump’s strategy “corresponds in many ways to our own vision.”
The strategy received a favorable response from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine is mentioned four times in the strategy, but the U.S. role in ending the conflict is limited to diplomacy: “It is a core interest of the United States to negotiate an expeditious cessation of hostilities in Ukraine.”
Trump also said the U.S. would work to improve relations between Russia and European countries: “As a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine … many Europeans regard Russia as an existential threat. Managing European relations with Russia will require significant U.S. diplomatic engagement.”
The strategy document says America will have a bigger military presence in the Western Hemisphere to combat drugs and illegal immigration but does not mention Venezuela, where the U.S. has assembled a fleet of warships.
Trump describes his security strategy as “flexible realism.” But it’s not clear how realistic the document is or if it will safeguard American interests.
Others worry about the strategy being so “flexible” that the president who often leads with his gut may ultimately pay it no heed.
Trump’s strategy document opened with his typical bluster. “Over the past nine months, we have brought our nation — and the world — back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster. … No administration in history has achieved so dramatic a turnaround in so short a time.”
The document also describes Trump’s vision for America, which sounds a bit like the vision of the evangelical “pro-family” conservatives who helped elect him: “We want the restoration and reinvigoration of American spiritual and cultural health, without which long-term security is impossible. We want an America that cherishes its past glories and its heroes, and that looks forward to a new golden age. We want a people who are proud, happy and optimistic that they will leave their country to the next generation better than they found it. We want a gainfully employed citizenry — with no one sitting on the sidelines — who take satisfaction from knowing that their work is essential to the prosperity of our nation and to the well-being of individuals and families. This cannot be accomplished without growing numbers of strong, traditional families that raise healthy children.”