Mike Nelson
U.S. presidents often find themselves adapting their defense policy to balance what they envisioned during their campaigns with what events require once they’re in office. George W. Bush campaigned on a shift away from adventurism and nation-building, but the 9/11 attacks turned his focus and cemented his legacy, forever associating him with the kinds of foreign involvement he had previously criticized. Barack Obama attempted to disentangle the U.S. from the Global War on Terror to pursue a “pivot” to the Pacific, only to surge troops to Afghanistan and witness the spread of Sunni jihadism in the Levant.
Donald Trump is no exception. His 2024 campaign for reelection and early days back in office signaled a more restrained vision for the use of U.S. military might, but the Pentagon has painted a different picture entirely. Rather than offering a clear plan for how America can and should use its military power, the Department of Defense seems to dart from one shiny object to another. But unlike the Bush or Obama administrations, this departure seems less a result of real-world circumstances and more the product of the Trump administration’s lack of a coherent defense strategy.
Since taking the helm 10 months ago, the Trump administration has alternately advocated for a reduced military footprint overseas, wielded the military as a tool to strong-arm allies, used servicemembers as a de facto law enforcement or border force, and threatened to initiate large-scale combat operations in two countries. Even the limited and correctly decided strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities represented a shift from a stated desire to be less involved in the Middle East.
No comments:
Post a Comment