Opinion

No friends needed: US National Security Strategy severs the past

Washington’s new vision of the world ditches alliances, plants an American flag in South America, embraces Israel and hydrocarbons, and lets Europe dangle.

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Houssam Itani
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No friends needed: US National Security Strategy severs the past

Houssam Itani
last update on

Those seeking to understand the new direction in international politics and in the Middle East could do worse than read the 2025 United States National Security Strategy, which explains how the US has abandoned its role as the driver of global security, economic stability, and order, and will accept the role of first among equals who are now emerging on the world stage, especially China.

In the document, the Middle East gets no special attention, which continues a course set by former US President Barack Obama, who announced America’s great “pivot” towards Asia in 2011 while withdrawing most American forces from Iraq that same year, paving the way for profound changes in the region.

This new strategy, launched by current President Donald Trump, reinforces this pivot and confirms that oil exports from the Middle East have declined in importance for the American economy, although it remains important for national security to protect maritime routes, defend Israel, and support allies.

Areas of focus

Among the main issues are relations with allies, oil, and energy in general. The document classifies US oil and gas as a cornerstone of national security and stresses the need to strengthen their role at the expense of renewable and low emission energy, despite cleaner energy becoming a pillar of Chinese security. Beijing’s huge reliance on oil imports is a vulnerability in the event of any US-China conflict. By contrast, Washington feels safe in this regard.

According to the US strategy, alternative energy has caused several setbacks in Europe and is one of the elements of its economic woes. More importantly, the US calls on its allies to become more self-reliant, openly declaring that its area of focus will be the Western Hemisphere, where it plans to boost military and intelligence budgets. As per Trump’s campaign pitch, the US will avoid wars that do not directly threaten its national security. The definition of national security, incidentally, has been expanded in the new document to include the protection of cultural identity and the prevention of migration.

The EU represents the complete antithesis of everything that Trump and his team believe about the role of states

His administration's condescending view of Europe is not new, nor its hostility to the EU. It represents the complete antithesis of everything that Trump and his team believe about the role of states in the economy, and the right to intervene in public affairs. Washington treats Brussels as a friend from whom not much can be expected, one that is suffering from a crisis of identity, ageing, and migration, and which must stand on its own feet, not wait for American armies to rush to its defence.

Goodbye to allies

For all intents and purposes, the strategy document is a declared end to the transatlantic alliance born in the early 1940s during the Second World War, and strengthened over the following decades during the Cold War, embodied by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). This effectively leaves Europe without the world's foremost military power in the continent's bid to contain an increasingly aggressive Russia which seems intent on continuing its war in Ukraine.

This was the focus of the meeting held in London between British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German chancellor Friedrich Merz, with officials from other European countries taking part remotely, after Trump expressed disappointment in Zelenskyy. The Europeans believe there can be no retreat in the face of Russian advances, so have resisted Trump's pressure for Zelenskyy to agree to Moscow's demands.

In their positioning, the Europeans draw on centuries of experience, including in the early 19th century when Paris was occupied after French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's defeat in 1814, through to 1945, when Soviet forces entered Berlin. The US National Security Strategy will push the Europeans to a new level of disarray. Europe, which is still suffering from Britain's exit, lacks the leadership needed to confront Russia, or to reach a Ukraine settlement that is not driven by Trump.

The US strategy document stands as one of the signposts on the modern world's path, as it journeys through ambiguity, tension, and fear of catastrophic shocks.

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Related topics National Security U.S. national security NATO alliance Russia Europe
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