(New York) Europe is threatened with “civilizational erasure” that the United States can help combat by “cultivating resistance” to its current trajectory. The Western Hemisphere is the preserve of the United States, which will continue to expand its military presence there, in particular to stop drug trafficking. And it is in the fundamental interest of the United States to negotiate “an early cessation” of the war in Ukraine.
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These are some of the guidelines of a “National Security Strategy” published Thursday evening by the White House.
How important is such a document?
This National Security Strategy, which each administration must submit periodically by act of Congress, is a window into the worldview of the sitting president. In 2022, Joe Biden focused his attention on China, the only competitor capable of “reformatting the international order” according to him, and “a Russia that is still deeply dangerous”. Three years later, Donald Trump is not ignoring these two countries, but his vision of the Western Hemisphere and Europe contrasts with that of his predecessor, to say the least.
What can we learn from Trump’s strategy towards the Western Hemisphere?
This sentence, which says it all: “The United States must occupy a preeminent position in the Western Hemisphere to guarantee its security and prosperity, which allows it to assert itself with confidence wherever and whenever it must in the region. » Such a posture requires a “readjustment” of the United States military presence in Latin America to counter illegal immigration, drug trafficking and presumed hostile regimes in the region. The military deployment off the coast of Venezuela and the strikes against boats suspected of drug trafficking are an illustration of this policy which is presented in the National Security Strategy as the “Trump corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine. Defined by former President James Monroe in 1823, this doctrine called on European countries in particular to respect the Americas as a sphere of American influence.
By the way, what does Trump’s strategy say about Canada?
The only mention of Canada in the 34-page document comes in a section concerning international trade. “We have made it clear to our allies that the U.S. trade deficit is unsustainable. We must encourage Europe, Japan, Korea, Australia, Canada, Mexico and other major countries to adopt trade policies that help rebalance China’s economy in favor of household consumption, because Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East alone cannot absorb China’s enormous overcapacity. »
And how does Trump see Europe?
As negatively as JD Vance. Its National Security Strategy presents Europe as a continent strangled by censorship, repression and “massive” immigration. “If current trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable within 20 years or less,” it reads. But there is hope, according to Trump, whose strategy welcomes “the growing influence of European patriotic parties”. Gérard Araud, former French ambassador to Washington, commented on the document on X: “The bewildering part devoted to Europe reads like a far-right pamphlet. »
Is Trump criticizing Russia?
Very little. In fact, the American president echoes some of Vladimir Putin’s arguments regarding NATO. According to the National Security Strategy, one of the main objectives of the United States vis-à-vis Europe is to “end the perception, and prevent the reality, of an ever-expanding NATO.” The document does not condemn Russia for its continuation of the war in Ukraine, but rather European governments for their “unrealistic expectations” regarding this conflict. “A large majority of Europeans want peace, but this desire is not translated into politics, largely because of the subversion of democratic processes by these governments,” the document reads.
Is China doing just as well?
Not as much. In the National Security Strategy, Donald Trump takes up certain traditional positions of the United States vis-à-vis China. “We will also maintain our long-standing declaratory policy on Taiwan, meaning that the United States does not support any unilateral change to the status quo across the Taiwan Strait,” the document reads in part. But the president is avoiding any comments that could harm ongoing trade negotiations between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese officials.
What about the rest?
Africa and the Middle East are the poor relations of the White House document. On the subject of the Middle East, we read a passage likely to irritate the Europeans, to whom Donald Trump does not hesitate to lecture: “Middle East partners demonstrate their commitment to fighting radicalism, a trend that American policy should continue to encourage. But doing so will require abandoning the United States’ misguided experiment in dominatingly haranguing these nations, particularly the Gulf monarchies, to renounce their traditions and historic forms of government. »
