...
Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
President Donald Trump will focus on the Western Hemisphere, drug trafficking and stemming migration, according to the newly released National Security Strategy which outlines his foreign policy priorities.
The document, typically released once each presidential term, refers to a reprise of the Monroe doctrine asserting U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere. This comes at a time when Trump has ordered a military buildup in the Caribbean.
The 33-page paper also takes a swipe at the science behind global warming as it calls for a return to “American energy dominance,” suggests Europe is in decline and pledges to end the war Russia started in Ukraine.
Read More on News
Newsweek has taken a look at the strategy’s main points.
...
Why It Matters
The National Security Strategy is the first of several important defense and foreign policy papers the Trump administration will release, which include the National Defense Strategy. These papers are likely to set the tone and budget priorities for the U.S. government’s foreign policy for the rest of his term and will be pored over by other world leaders.
What To Know
The National Security Strategy was released on Thursday night. In its introduction, Trump outlined what he had done so far since he returned to the White House, such as targeting Iran's nuclear capabilities, pushing NATO members to spend more on defense and imposing "historic tariffs" to boost American industry.
The document appears to be in keeping with his foreign policy objectives in his second term, such as reducing migration, pushing for a strong industrial base and deploying the military to the Caribbean.
Western Hemisphere Dominance
The document describes the "Trump Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, referring to the 19th-century policy position of President James Monroe that the Western Hemisphere was U.S. sphere of influence. This suggested a prioritizing of restoring American dominances to the region closest to the U.S. and working to stop the flow of drugs and migration.
It said the U.S. would deny countries not in the region “the ability to position forces or other threatening capabilities, or to own or control strategically vital assets” and that Washington would seek to “enlist and expand” its influence in the region.
Since Trump took office, he has renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, increased the American military’s presence in the Caribbean, ordered strikes on boats he said were carrying drugs from Venezuela and waged a war of words with the president of Colombia, a country which is typically considered a regional ally.
Mark Shanahan, an expert in U.S. Politics from the University of Surrey, England, told Newsweek on Friday: "There's a strong element of retrofitting to the strategy with the pivot to the Western Hemisphere."
...
Criticism of Europe
The strategy said the Trump Administration was "at odds with" European officials over the war in Ukraine, claiming they had "unrealistic expectations" about ending the conflict initiated by Vladimir Putin and saying they operated in "in unstable minority governments, many of which trample on basic principles of democracy to suppress opposition."
“Should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 year,” it said, warning that Europe risks “civilizational erasure” due its decreasing share of global GDP adding that some NATO countries will become “majority non-European."
The strategy also stated it was “a core interest of the United States to negotiate an expeditious cessation of hostilities in Ukraine,” and to lessen the risk of a Russian confrontation with other European countries.
The document also appears to back right-wing, populist parties, saying that “the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism.”
However, the strategy did note the need for “a strong Europe” which the U.S. can work with "to prevent any adversary from dominating Europe.”
Commenting on the document, Shanahan added: “This strategy does not paint the USA as a reliable ally to its traditional western European partners. It is a very significant shift from America's previous multilateral engagement.”
Less Focus on Middle East
The strategy said that the Middle East was no longer a priority for the U.S. and that its role as an oil exporter was less important given that the U.S. was “once again a net energy exporter.”
The document said that the U.S. should stop “hectoring” partners such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which had previously been criticized for human rights concerns. There should also be an expansion of the Abraham Accords.
It said that the U.S. would always need to ensure Gulf energy supplies “do not fall into the hands of an outright enemy” and that the Strait of Hormuz remain open, that the Red Sea remain navigable and that Israel remain secure but this can be done “without decades of fruitless ‘nation-building’ wars.”
Shanahan said: “Outside of hegemony in the Western hemisphere, the U.S. seems to be all about asymmetric transactional deal making.”
Energy Dominance
A priority for the Trump administration is to restore energy dominance in oil, gas, coal and nuclear. The document said that cheap and abundant energy would boost jobs and reduce costs for consumers and businesses and well as increase U.S. industrialization.
It stated: “We reject the disastrous ‘climate change’ and ‘net zero’ ideologies that have so greatly harmed Europe, threaten the United States, and subsidize our adversaries.”
China
The National Security Strategy talks tough on China but does not appear to condemn it as it called for the U.S. “rebalance” its economic relationship with the country with which Trump has started a trade war.
Politico reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had pushed for some softening of the language about Beijing amid sensitive U.S. trade talks with China.
The document said that on current growth trends, and a mutually advantageous economic relationship with Beijing "we should be headed from our present $30 trillion economy in 2025 to $40 trillion in the 2030s.”
The document also pledged that the U.S. would focus on the importance of the Indo-Pacific region and that a priority was deterring a conflict over Taiwan, the self-governing island that China claims is part of its territory.
“We will also maintain our longstanding declaratory policy on Taiwan, meaning that the United States does not support any unilateral change to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait,” the paper said.
What People Are Saying
National Security Strategy said in its newly released document: “The United States must be preeminent in the Western Hemisphere as a condition of our security and prosperity — a condition that allows us to assert ourselves confidently where and when we need to in the region."
Mark Shanahan, associate professor, University of Surrey told Newsweek: “The strategy is about deal making, this attempts to make a case for coercive power” adding “it's a path the U.S. will have to tread carefully - not easy for a capricious president.”
What Happens Next
The National Security Strategy will be pored over by the media and policymakers as a steer towards the Trump administration’s plans for the remainder of this term. This will soon be followed the release of the National Defense Strategy, which is expected later this month.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines