Trump revives Cold War nuclear strategy
President says Russia and China are challenging US power and attacks Obama and Bush ‘complacency’
DONALD TRUMP outlined a new Cold War-style approach to US foreign policy yesterday by framing Russia and China as competitors and stressing the importance of nuclear weapons.
The US president’s first national security strategy, published yesterday, chastised previous US 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. Mr Trump said: “With the strategy I’m announcing today, we’re declaring that America is in the game and America is going to win.” The 56-page document – an attempt to gather Mr Trump’s campaign promises and policy beliefs into a coherent strategy – has been a year in the making.
At times, it clashed with Mr Trump’s own behaviour. Russia is said to be “using information tools in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of democracies” – an assessment which Mr Trump has often hesitated from repeating. It also states that “the rule of law is the shield that protects the individual from government corruption and abuse of power”, yet he has been criticised for seeking to influence judicial decisions.
Speaking about the strategy, Mr Trump said that “for years Washington politicians presided over one disappointment after another”. The president criticised Mr Obama and George W Bush, the former Republican president, as he attacked “disastrous” trade deals and the “short-changing” of US 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,” Mr 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.” One section 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.”