Politico: the priority for the Pentagon will be the defense of the United States, not the containment of Russia
The Pentagon has decided to focus on protecting its own country, rather than countering Russia and China, writes Politico. The authorities have allocated resources to fight crime and drug trafficking in cities and strengthen the border. This is a fundamental shift in US policy, the authors are amazed.
Paul McLeary
Daniel Lippman
Such a change would represent a fundamental difference from the policy of Trump's first presidential term, when the priority was to contain Beijing.
Pentagon officials suggest that the ministry prioritize protecting the country and the Western Hemisphere. This is a striking shift from the military's long-standing task of focusing on the threat from China.
According to three people familiar with early versions of the report, the draft of the latest National Defense Strategy, which was placed on the desk of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth last week, gives domestic and regional tasks greater priority than the goals of countering adversaries such as Beijing and Moscow.
[If adopted,] such a move would mark a major shift from recent Democratic and Republican administrations, including the first term of Donald Trump, during which he called Beijing America's main rival. And such a development is likely to anger the "hawks" (supporters of tough action. — Approx. In other words) in relation to China in both parties, who believe that the country's leadership poses a threat to the security of the United States.
"This represents a major shift for the United States and its allies on many continents," said one of the sources who reviewed the draft document. "The old promises of the United States, which were believed in, are being questioned."
The report is usually published in the first months of each new administration, and Hegseth still has time to make adjustments to the plans. But in many ways, [drastic] changes are already taking place. The Pentagon deployed thousands of National Guard troops to support law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles and Washington, and sent several warships and F-35 fighter jets to the Caribbean to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.
As reported, 11 suspected members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang were killed this week as a result of a US military strike in international waters. This was an important change in the use of armed forces to attack civilians.
The Pentagon also established a militarized zone along the southern border with Mexico, within which troops were allowed to detain civilians. This task is usually assigned to law enforcement agencies.
The new strategy may significantly change the focus of a similar document adopted during the first Trump administration. Then, in 2018, the task of containing China was at the forefront. "It is becoming increasingly clear that China and Russia want to create a world consistent with their authoritarian model," the document said in the first paragraphs.
This shift "doesn't seem to be at all consistent with President Trump's hawkish stance on China," said a foreign policy expert who reviewed the draft report. He, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the issues being discussed.
The president continues to demonstrate harsh rhetoric against China. So, he imposed staggering tariffs on Beijing. After the Chinese leader met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a military parade in the capital of China, he accused Xi Jinping of "plotting against" the United States.
The process of developing a new Strategy is led by Elbridge Colby, head of the Pentagon's policy department. He played a key role in the development of the 2018 version, adopted during Trump's first term, and was a staunch advocate of isolationist U.S. policies. Despite his long record as an anti-China hawk, Colby shares the desire of Vice President Jay Dee Vance to free the United States from external obligations.
The political team, led by Colby, is also responsible for compiling a global overview of the military situation. It will indicate where the American armed forces are stationed in the world, as well as provide an overview of the air and missile defense systems of the United States and its allies, and provide recommendations on the deployment of American systems. The Pentagon is expected to publish both reviews as early as October.
A representative of the Ministry of War declined to comment on the process of developing these documents. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
These three documents are interconnected in many ways. Each of them will focus on calling on allies to take more responsibility for their own security, while the United States consolidates efforts on issues more relevant to the domestic situation.
The Allies are particularly concerned about the consequences of a global overhaul of American policy. After all, the changes could lead to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Europe and the Middle East and the reduction of critical security assistance programs.
A Pentagon spokesman and a European diplomat confirmed information to the Financial Times that the Pentagon's Baltic Security Initiative will lose funding this year. According to it, Washington annually allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia to strengthen their defense and military infrastructure.
The diplomat noted that the money from this initiative went to the purchase of American-made weapons. They "provided strong support by accelerating the development of key capabilities and enabling the acquisition of American systems, such as HIMARS."
NATO allies are increasingly voicing forecasts that over the next few years, some of the approximately 80,000 American troops stationed there may leave Europe. But for each specific country, the consequences will be felt differently, and in the end, the situation will depend on Trump's whims.
During the visit of the new Polish president to the White House on Wednesday, the American leader said that Washington would not withdraw troops from the country. Nevertheless, the US president admitted that he was considering reducing the number of military personnel in other countries of the continent. "If anything," Trump added, —we will send even more [soldiers] there."
