LOS ANGELES — The Trump administration unveiled a new National Security Strategy Thursday evening, calling for a greater emphasis in the Western Hemisphere, while also paving the way for friction points with allies and partners across the globe.
Europe, in particular, seems to be in the crosshairs, as the strategy includes terms that warn of “civilizational erasure” on the continent while also seemingly calling for a halt to NATO expansion.
“After years of neglect, the United States will reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere, and to protect our homeland and our access to key geographies throughout the region,” the 33-page strategy document says. “We will deny non-Hemispheric competitors the ability to position forces or other threatening capabilities, or to own or control strategically vital assets, in our Hemisphere.”
The Monroe Doctrine, in its simplest terms, was an 1823 US policy telling European powers to stay out of the Western Hemisphere. The newly released NSS [pdf], the precursor to the forthcoming National Defense Strategy (NDS), dubs the changes the “Trump Corollary” with the goal of enlisting “established friends” in the region to help control migration, curtail the flow of drugs and strengthen stability while the seeking to “expand” those partnerships.
Notably, the first bullet in the “priorities” section of the document states that “The era of mass migration is over,” stating that “border security is the primary element of national security.”
A growing emphasis on the Americas in both the NSS and NDS has been expected, especially at a time when the administration has been flooding the region with maritime assets and striking vessels it claims are ferrying drugs. But with that expectation, there have been a wide-range of questions about what that recalibration may mean for Washington’s commitment to Europe and the Indo-Pacific regions.
Although the NSS doesn’t offer up all of those answers, it does offer a peek at policy changes and is sure to spark debate this weekend when high-level government officials, lawmakers and defense contractors descend on Simi Valley, Calif., for the annual Reagan National Defense Forum. (It is expected that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will use his keynote at the event this weekend to at least preview the NDS.)
That debate will surely involve some of the included language around Europe, which seems to be in the cultural crosshairs.
In one section, the NSS states that “We will oppose elite- driven, anti-democratic restrictions on core liberties in Europe, the Anglosphere, and the rest of the world, especially among our allies. ” This may be an allusion to an incident earlier this year, when Vice President JD Vance lambasted Europe for cracking down on far-right political parties.
Elsewhere, the document expressly states that the largest issue facing Europe is the “Stark prospect of civilizational erasure,” which also echoes comments Vance made earlier this year.
“Over the long term, it is more than plausible that within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European,” the NSS says. “As such, it is an open question whether they will view their place in the world, or their alliance with the United States, in the same way as those who signed the NATO charter.”
The NSS goes on to call for ending the “perception” and “preventing the reality” of NATO’s continued expansion. At the same time, it calls on Washington to increase diplomatic relations with Moscow to reestablish conditions for regional “strategic stability.”
As for the ever-illusive pivot to the Indo-Pacific region, the NSS says the US wants to build up a military capable of “denying aggression” within the First Island Chain, while also calling on regional partners to do more.
“Our allies must step up and spend — and more importantly do — much more for collective defense,” the strategy says. It goes on to say deterring a conflict over Taiwan remains a “priority” and the US does not support unilateral changes to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait — something likely welcomed by allies in the region.