WarSclerotic

U.S. President Donald Trump introduced his new national security strategy on Monday, saying that the U.S. will follow his 2016 campaign doctrine of “America First.”

“America is in the game, and America is going to win,” he said.

Trump’s strategy focuses on protecting U.S. interests, including building a wall on the U.S. southern border and taking other steps on immigration. He also called for promoting American prosperity, demonstrating peace through strength and advancing American influence worldwide.

He stressed the U.S. will cooperate with other countries “in a manner that always protects our national interests.”

The administration’s 70-page national security document, a product of months of deliberations by the president and his top advisers, stressed that the “America First” doctrine does not mean “America Alone.” But it made clear that the United States will protect its interests even if that means acting unilaterally or alienating others on issues like trade, climate change and immigration.

“We will stand up for ourselves, and we will stand up for our country like we have never stood up before. … To succeed, we must integrate every dimension of our national strength, and we must compete with every instrument of our national power,” Trump said.

“Our strategy advances vital national interests. We must protect the American people, the homeland, and our great American way of life. This strategy recognizes that we cannot secure our nation if we do not secure our borders. So for the first time ever, American strategy now includes a serious plan to defend our homeland.

“In addition, our strategy calls for us to confront, discredit, and defeat radical Islamic terrorism and ideology and to prevent it from spreading into the United States. And we will develop new ways to counter those who use new domains, such as cyber and social media, to attack our nation or threaten our society,” he said.

On the Middle East, the strategy noted that “for generations, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has been understood as the prime irritant preventing peace and prosperity in the region. Today, the threats from radical jihadist terrorist organizations and the threat from Iran are creating the realization that Israel is not the cause of the region’s problems. States have increasingly found common interests with Israel in confronting common threats.”

The American president noted that “to counter Iran and block its path to a nuclear weapon, I sanctioned the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for its support of terrorism, and I declined to certify the Iran deal.

“Following my trip to the Middle East, the Gulf states and other Muslim-majority nations joined together to fight radical Islamist ideology and terrorist financing. We have dealt ISIS one devastating defeat after another. … We’re now chasing them wherever they flee, and we will not let them into the United States.”

Despite international challenges, the document cites emerging opportunities to advance American interests in the Middle East.

“Some of our partners are working together to reject radical ideologies and key leaders are calling for a rejection of Islamist extremism and violence,” it said. “Encouraging political stability and sustainable prosperity would contribute to dampening the conditions that fuel sectarian grievances.”

Criticizing previous administrations, Trump said that “to seize the opportunities of the future, we must first understand the failures of the past.

“For many years, our citizens watched as Washington politicians presided over one disappointment after another. … Our leaders in Washington negotiated disastrous trade deals that brought massive profits to many foreign nations, but sent thousands of American factories, and millions of American jobs, to those other countries.

“Our leaders engaged in nation-building abroad, while they failed to build up and replenish our nation at home. … They failed to insist that our often very wealthy allies pay their fair share for defense, putting a massive and unfair burden on the U.S. taxpayer and our great U.S. military.

“They neglected a nuclear menace in North Korea; made a disastrous, weak, and incomprehensibly bad deal with Iran; and allowed terrorists such as ISIS to gain control of vast parts of territory all across the Middle East,” he said.

The new doctrine also seeks to “preserve peace through strength. We recognize that weakness is the surest path to conflict, and unrivaled power is the most certain means of defense. … This strategy includes plans to counter modern threats, such as cyber and electromagnetic attacks. It recognizes space as a competitive domain and calls for multi-layered missile defense. This strategy outlines important steps to address new forms of conflict such as economic and political aggression.

“And our strategy emphasizes strengthening alliances to cope with these threats. It recognizes that our strength is magnified by allies who share principles – and our principles – and shoulder their fair share of responsibility for our common security,” he said.

Russia meddles in domestic affairs worldwide

Trump’s strategy document also leveled harsh criticism at Russia over interference in domestic political affairs of countries globally but stopped short of accusing Moscow of meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

The criticism reflects a view long held by U.S. diplomats that Russia actively undermines American interests at home and abroad, despite Trump’s own bid for warmer ties with President Vladimir Putin.

“Through modernized forms of subversive tactics, Russia interferes in the domestic political affairs of countries around the world,” the policy document said.

“Russia uses information [gathering] operations as part of its offensive cyber efforts to influence public opinion across the globe. Its influence campaigns blend covert intelligence operations and false online personas with state-funded media, third-party intermediaries, and paid social media users or ‘trolls,'” the document said.

An unclassified State Department cable, seen by Reuters, said: “Russia tries to weaken the credibility of America’s commitment to Europe. With its invasions of Georgia and Ukraine, Russia has demonstrated a willingness to use force to challenge the sovereignty of states in the region.”

The Trump administration lumps together China and Russia as competitors seeking to challenge U.S. power and erode its security and prosperity. A senior administration official said Russia and China were attempting to revise the global status quo – Russia in Europe with its military incursions into Ukraine and Georgia, and China in Asia by its aggression in the South China Sea.

The strategy document said that “Chinese dominance risks diminishing the sovereignty of many states” in its region and beyond, and called for stronger traditional alliances and new partnerships in Asia amid a “geopolitical competition between free and repressive visions of world order.”

“America will lead again,” Trump declared Monday. “We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but we will champion the values without apology.

“We want strong alliances and partnerships based on cooperation and reciprocity. We will make new partnerships with those who share our goals, and make common interests into a common cause. We will not allow inflexible ideology to become an obsolete and obstacle to peace.

“We will pursue the vision we have carried around the world over this past year – a vision of strong, sovereign, and independent nations that respect their citizens and respect their neighbors; nations that thrive in commerce and cooperation, rooted in their histories and branching out toward their destinies. That is the future we wish for this world, and that is the future we seek in America,” he said.