TRUMP’S SECURITY STRATEGY TO FOCUS ON TEHRAN
▶ US officials offer glimpses of policy review due to be released tomorrow
Containing Iran will be a major focus of America’s Middle East policy under a National Security Strategy due to be published in Washington tomorrow.
The more structured approach to US national security strategy marks the end of a tumultuous first year in power for the Republican government.
The strategy, which details the government’s approach and goals in policymaking, has emerged relatively early in Donald Trump’s administration.
Predecessors Barack Obama and George W Bush waited 17 months and 21 months before putting out such a document, while the Trump team approved it in less than 11 months since taking office.
Although the document will officially be made public tomorrow, senior US officials including national security adviser H R McMaster confirming an escalation against Iran, which the Trump government calls a “rogue regime”.
But based on excerpts from a draft, which ran in The Atlantic last week, the document does not fall in line with some of Mr Trump’s campaign promises.
The excerpts embraced a more globalist approach to international challenges and shied away from isolationist policies, such as building a wall and ending trade deals, which helped Mr Trump to victory.
The administration has stated “America First” does not mean “America Alone”.
It will make clear that the US will stand up for itself even if that means acting on its own or alienating others on issues such as trade, climate change and immigration, sources say.
“Strengthening control over our borders and immigration system is central to national security, economic prosperity and the rule of law,” the draft says.
“Terrorists, drug traffickers, and criminal cartels exploit porous borders and threaten US security and public safety.
“These actors adapt quickly to outpace our defences. The United States affirms its sovereign right to determine who should enter our country and under what circumstances.”
Deputy national security adviser Dina Powell and Dr Nadia Schadlow, who worked on strategy under Mr McMaster, oversaw the drafting of the 70page doctrine.
It was discussed by dozens of members of Congress, agreed on by key members of the cabinet and approved by Mr Trump, the Axios news website reported.
Mr McMaster has said that the new strategy is framed around “principled realism” and that it will be guided by four priorities: defending the homeland, protecting American prosperity, sustaining peace through strength and advancing American influence.
He said the new policy would outline threats from the “revisionist powers”, Russia and China, and from “rogue regimes”, such as Iran and North Korea.
Mr McMaster said that Iran was a leading state sponsor of terrorism, repeating that the US government was committed to cut its path to nuclear weapons and efforts to destabilise the Middle East.
On Thursday, Mr McMaster and US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley presented “concrete evidence” of Iran’s weapons proliferation.
The policy document is also
expected to criticise Moscow and its threat to the US, despite Mr Trump’s soft speech towards Russia during the presidential campaign.
“We’re facing a threat from Russia that involves so-called new generation warfare,” Mr McMaster said on Tuesday at a forum on US relations with Britain, run by the Policy Exchange think tank.
These are very sophisticated campaigns of subversion – and disinformation and propaganda, using cyber tools – that attempt to divide our communities within our nations and pit them against each other and try to create crises of confidence.
“We have to work together harder than ever to ensure that nations uphold the rule of law, respect the sovereignty of their neighbours and support the post-Second World War, postCold War order of peace, stability and collective security.”
The new strategy will advocate more co-operation and engagement with US allies in the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
“Geopolitics are back with a vengeance, after this holiday from history we took in the so-called post-Cold War period,” Mr McMaster said. He summed up the strategy with phrases, including “competitive engagement”, “strengthen alliances through, in part, reciprocity”, and “ensure the US is confident”.
The policy is expected to honour freedom of expression and individual rights, but it remains unclear whether it will adopt calls to spread democracy and respect human rights – issues shelved by the Trump administration.
While the national security strategy represents a guide for any US administration, many of its guidelines have in the past been disregarded due to developments on the ground.