Trump is reclaiming America’s global leadership

The president has abandoned the isolationist rhetoric of the campaign. We should stand by his side

Any fears America’s allies may have entertained that Donald Trump was determined to pursue an isolationist foreign policy will have been well and truly laid to rest by the publication of his national security strategy.

Throughout last year’s presidential election campaign Mr Trump gave the strong impression that he wanted Washington to withdraw from its global leadership role, and concentrate instead on rebuilding the economic strength of the United States.

Slogans such as “America First” were designed to rally support for Mr Trump’s desire to revive the country’s financial fortunes, rather than to confront Washington’s enemies.

The call for economic revival, it is true, features prominently in the new strategy announced by the President, with him promising to tear up trade deals he regards as being contrary to America’s interests.

But the new strategy also makes clear that Mr Trump intends to act on a far broader front than economic, especially when it comes to powers such as Russia and China, which he believes are seeking to “challenge American power, influence and interests” and to “erode American security and prosperity”.

One of the strategy’s most revealing passages concerns what the authors believe is the failure of so-called soft power to achieve US objectives since the end of the Cold War. It takes issue with “policies based on the assumption that engagement with rivals and their inclusion in international institutions and global commerce would turn them into benign actors and trustworthy partners. For the most part, this premise turned out to be false.”

This conclusion is significant because, in effect, it signals the Trump administration is turning its back on the “end of history” thesis advanced by US academics such as Francis Fukuyama, which held that, following the collapse of the Iron Curtain, the era of global conflict was at an end.

Now, for the first time, we have a major policy document that directly contradicts this approach, and instead argues that global rivalry is just as intense as it was during the Cold War era. China and Russia are singled out as being the main adversaries because, the document states, 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”.

Add to this the threats posed by countries such as North Korea and Iran, which continue to enjoy their “rogue state” status, and it is clear the Trump administration, far from withdrawing from the world stage, is looking forward to a new era in which America reasserts its authority, both economic and military.

Mr Trump has declared on several occasions that he regards prosperity and security to be the twin goals of his presidency, and his national security document makes it plain that you cannot have one without the other. So, if this administration is to succeed in strengthening the American economy, it will need to maintain its role as the world’s leading military superpower.

Indeed, under Mr Trump, the US has already reversed the “leadership from behind” approach favoured by Barack Obama. The defeat of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) in places such as Mosul and Raqqa was accomplished because Mr Trump relaxed the rules of engagement that had previously hindered the tactics of the Us-led coalition. Mr Trump’s no-nonsense approach to the threat posed by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s nuclear weapons has also helped the Chinese to face up to their responsibilities in terms of resolving the crisis.

And if, as now seems likely, Washington is to maintain this more robust approach to dealing with its global rivals, then the likelihood is that it will be also looking to close allies such as Britain to support its aims, a point that those currently responsible for reviewing Britain’s future defence and security commitments would be well-advised to take on board.

For the past two decades, British forces have been deeply involved in Us-led operations against common foes. But serious questions remain as to whether the military still has the resources to make a significant contribution to future American operations. The leak, for example, in the hull of the Royal Navy’s new 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth will be seen as symptomatic of a wider malaise within our Armed Forces, where drastic cuts to the defence budget have undermined their effectiveness.

This is a situation the Government needs to address as a matter of urgency if, as our politicians keep telling us, maintaining the transatlantic alliance with the US is crucial to Britain’s security and economic well-being in the post-brexit world.

Mr Trump’s national security agenda makes it clear he intends to take a new, bold approach in confronting the enemies of the West. And if Britain wants to support its long-standing ally in this important global realignment, then the Government must make sure it has the means to do so.