‘AMERICA IS IN THE GAME’

Trump frames China, Russia as rivals in new foreign policy

WASHINGTON • President Donald Trump outlined a new Cold War-style approach to U.S. foreign policy Monday by framing Russia and China as competitors and stressing the importance of nuclear weapons.

The president’s first national security strategy chastised previous U.S. administrations for their “complacency” since the Soviet Union’s fall. It said American nuclear weapons were “the foundation of our strategy to preserve peace and stability” and called for new “significant investment.”

The strategy document said Russia and China were trying to “challenge American power, influence and interests” and “erode American security and prosperity.” And it warned against “engagement” with rivals, saying the belief they could be turned into “benign actors and trustworthy partners” had been proved wrong.

Climate change was also dropped as a national security concern.

“With the strategy I’m announcing today, we’re declaring that America is in the game and America is going to win,” said Trump.

The 56-page document — an attempt to gather Trump’s campaign promises and policy beliefs into a coherent strategy — has been a year in the making.

Speaking about the strategy, Trump said that “for years Washington politicians presided over one disappointment after another”. The president criticized Barack Obama and George W Bush, the former Republican president, as he attacked “disastrous” trade deals and the “short-changing” of U.S. soldiers.

He pointed to early foreign policy wins including victories against jihadists, sanctions on North Korea and more defence spending among NATO allies. “The entire world has heard the news and already seen the signs: America is coming back strong,” Trump said.

The document outlined four “pillars” of security: Protect the American people; promote American prosperity; preserve peace through strength; and advance American influence.

The strategy read: “Following the remarkable victory of free nations in the Cold War, America emerged as the lone superpower with enormous advantages and momentum in the world. Success, however, bred complacency. A belief emerged, among many, that American power would be unchallenged and self-sustaining. The United States began to drift.”

On rival countries, it read: “They are determined to make economies less free and less fair, to grow their militaries, and to control information and data to repress their societies and expand their influence.”

Trump promised to seek openings to co-operate with rivals, but added that “we will stand up for ourselves and we will stand up for our country like we have never stood up before.”

He noted during his remarks that Russian President Vladimir Putin called him over the weekend to thank the CIA for help in stopping a terror plot in St. Petersburg.

“They were able to apprehend these terrorists before the event with no loss of life, and that’s a great thing and the way it’s supposed to work,” said Trump.

He added: “Our rivals are tough, they’re tenacious and committed to the long term, but so are we.”

One section of the strategy also read: “Nuclear weapons have served a vital purpose in America’s National Security Strategy for the past 70 years. They are the foundation of our strategy to preserve peace and stability by deterring aggression against the United States, our allies, and our partners.”

The last national strategy document, prepared by Obama in 2015, declared climate change an “urgent and growing threat to our national security.” The Trump plan removes that determination — following the administration’s threat to pull out of the Paris climate accord.

The strategy sets a goal of being an “energy-dominant nation” but does say that the United States “recognizes the importance of environmental stewardship.”