Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Will President Trump's National Security Strategy Succeed?



Dov Zakheim, Business Insider/Foreign Policy: Trump's national security strategy may succeed more than people think

* President Donald Trump's recently unveiled national security strategy is a well-crafted document that should reassure allies and partners, and give adversaries considerable pause.
* His harsh words for Iran and North Korea are particularly welcome.
* But the omission of Russia and Turkey when discussing the state of the Middle East is also noteworthy.

Several of my colleagues have already pointed out — with obvious relief — that the new National Security Strategy does not veer to sharply from those espoused by President Trump’s predecessors, at least until Ronald Reagan.

Indeed, the document devotes a section to “peace through strength,” a phrase much associated with the Gipper and his secretary of defense, Caspar Weinberger. It is primarily in the realm of politico-military affairs that the Strategy fits within the mainstream of national security policy.

It is a well-crafted document that should reassure allies and partners, and give adversaries considerable pause. That is not at the case with respect to domestic policy, however.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: President Trump's National Security document is here. As to what is my take on this document .... too early to pass any judgements.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think Trump benefits a lot from a few key issues

1) it became clearer in 2017 that China not only acts aggressively but does not know how to make friends / acts like a psychopath. The north Korea issue, the south China Sea issue, being caught meddling in internal affairs of other countries (eg Australia)...People are finally waking up to the threat China and are preparing accordingly. Austria cracked down on Chinese meddling, Japan is arming itself against China (see recent rocket and aircraft carrier news), Taiwan buys more weapons, etc etc this will also make it easier for Trump to forge alliances in the region
2) Russia's contribution in killing Isis and other militants - the 98% loss of ISIS territory is not only because Trump changed rules of engagement, but Russia's relentless (often nondiscriminatory) bombings