The White House published its National Security Strategy on December 4th and it is as revealing as it is disturbing. The Orwellian language littered throughout—"Peace is Strength"—coupled with the bizarre mixed metaphors—"surgically extinguish embers of division"—serve to produce a document which, like its authorship, thinks it is much smarter than it is. In truth, this Strategy has very little strategy behind it; one does not have to be a security analyst to read between the lines to establish exactly what Trump's administration has in store for the rest of the world.

You can read the original document here, or speed read my highlighted version here. Either way, I read the whole damn thing so you don't have to. Here are the key takeaways:

The Major Threat is Cultural

Key to the Trump administration's election successes is an exclusionary vision of social cohesion which values traditional, Christian, hetero-patriarchal, nuclear families. That vision is alive and well in this Security Strategy, essentially noting that the countries own borders must be secured from within if America's global power is to remain unchallenged. The administration calls it "spiritual and cultural health", and it includes a flagrant rewriting of history, calling for Americans to be deeply proud of its history and therefore optimistic for its future. Given the Americas was built on both the genocide of the indigenous populations and then the Transatlantic Slave Trade, it is no wonder which "Americans" the document is referring to.

Throughout the document, stabs are made at "radical ideologies", going so far as to even mention the now cancelled Diversity, Equality, Inclusion policy which championed equal opportunity. Trump's administration contrasts equal opportunity with competence, implying that the many Americans who are not White are no longer valuable to the economy.

Human Rights Are Not Our Problem

"We seek good relations and peaceful commercial relations with the nations of the world without imposing on them democratic or other social change that differs widely from their traditions and histories."

This is a repeated refrain throughout the document, essentially giving the Trump Administration a carte blanche to partner with some of the most egregious offenders against human rights if their interests align. Trump has already established political and corporate ties with Saudi Arabia, and during ruler MBS' recent visit to the White House, Trump dismissed a journalist who directly asked MBS about his known involvement in the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Administration's plans to rewrite history, it seems, are not merely contained to the Western hemisphere.

The document also notes, quite plainly, that the USA will be willing and able to work with non-allied countries if their interests align, effectively giving permission for the USA and Russia to work together despite Russia's illegal war in Ukraine. This is a policy of non-intervention as long as there's money to be made.

Diplomats Now Work for American Companies

"All our embassies must be aware of major business opportunities in their country, especially major government contracts. Every U.S. Government official that interacts with these countries should understand that part of their job is to help American companies compete and succeed."

Despite having lambasted free trade in the opening statements, the plan is quite clearly to encourage free trade for American companies all around the world. In a truly astonishing admission, the Administration now expects diplomats and embassies to be scouts and salesmen for American corporations, funnelling information home about available opportunities, contracts, and no doubt lacing their diplomatic relations with either threats or bribes of corporate partnerships—as the Strategy later suggests.

Latin America is Now U.S Property

The Administration is relaunching the "Monroe Doctrine", a foreign policy first articulated by President James Monroe in 1823 which opposes European colonialism in the Americas. Amazingly, the Administration is calling this relaunch "a "Trump Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine" (just as a reminder, "corollary" means "a proposition inferred immediately from a proved proposition with little or no additional proof.")

Essentially, the Trump Administration is looking to secure the Western Hemisphere—namely the Americas—as its strategic economic, security and raw materials partners. But more than that, it doesn't want anyone else having access to Latin America at all. This is, perhaps, the most revealing section in the entire document, as the USA plans plans to boost national economies in Central and South America so that it can exploit the emerging markets. Trump is big on re-industrialisation—but that means nothing without a market to export that industry to. This is a mimicry of China's policy of investing in Global South countries in order to create trade partners and secure raw materials, and it is the first hint of US strategy which reckons with the reality of a changing world, including the strength of China and the insecurity of Europe.

China is Too Big to Fail

"Trade with China should be balanced and focused on non-sensitive factors. If America remains on a growth path—and can sustain that while maintaining a genuinely mutually advantageous economic relationship with Beijing—we should be headed from our present $30 trillion economy in 2025 to $40 trillion in the 2030s, putting our country in an enviable position to maintain our status as the world's leading economy.

The United States has no intention of going to war with China because it cannot afford to lose the Chinese market. Whilst the strategy grumbles about prior foreign policy to outsource all manufacturing to China, the document concedes that China is too cleverly intertwined in too many emerging economies, and less dependent on the USA than the USA is on it, particularly with its control of raw material supply chains. This is a jaw-dropping admission. The strategy document repeatedly states that the USA does not aim for "global dominance", but it does not seek to be usurped, either, as the richest country in the world. The USA cannot take China down—but it can ride its coat tails and hope to maintain a margin of economic difference.

Europe is a Sinking Ship That We Can't Yet Abandon

"Should present trends continue, the [European] continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies."

Europe is warned—repeatedly—throughout this document that its years of American allyship are dwindling, and that its only continued value is the Transatlantic trade. The Administration cannot write Europe off—yet. But if it allies with Russia, controls the markets of Latin America, and enjoys a mutually beneficial trade relationship with China, then who's to say what Europe's fate may be in the coming decades?

Trump's Administration is going to push hard in Europe for cultural and democratic alignment, effectively warning Europe that the long-held policy of American intervention will continue on the continent: "American diplomacy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations' individual character and history...Our goal should be to help Europe correct its current trajectory."

While dictators and human rights abusers and religious fundamentalists get off without even a slap on the wrist because of differing "traditions and histories", Europe is very much in America's cross-hairs due to its very contrast with American policy. These two imperial powers, one more former than the other, now hold very different democratic and political ideals, which undermines the Trump project as a welcome inevitability.

There's Nothing Worth Fighting Over in the Middle East

"As this administration rescinds or eases restrictive energy policies and American energy production ramps up, America's historic reason for focusing on the Middle East will recede."

Oil is running out all over the world. The oil-producing nations of the Middle East are scrambling to find new markets and industries to support their economies when the crash hits. Saudi Arabia is gunning for tourism, financial hubs and technological innovation. The UAE is washing conflict diamonds and financing the Sudanese genocide to get its hands on gold. Partnership is the key to their survival now, and so, without any oil to steal, the USA is withdrawing from the region.

What this means for Israel's relationship with the United States, as a military outpost for resource-grabbing, is very unclear. The "President of Peace" has unabashedly supported Israel's genocide of the Palestinians since Israeli money started coming his way, and it is unlikely he will cut off ties. But Israel must maintain its political, military and corporate relevance to keep Trump's attention. Perhaps it plans on helping the USA build the "Golden Dome" missile defence "for the American homeland" outlined in the document. Perhaps. But U.S withdrawal from the Middle East should raise eyebrows in Israel—if it offers no strategic benefit to its most powerful ally, after alienating all others, how can it maintain its own security?

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