Trump strategy document revives Monroe Doctrine, slams Europe

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By Idrees Ali, Matt Spetalnick and James Mackenzie

WASHINGTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) – The United States will reassert its dominance in the Western Hemisphere, build military strength in the Indo-Pacific, and possibly reassess its relationship with Europe, President Donald Trump said on Friday in a sweeping strategy document that seeks to reframe the country’s role in the world.

The National Security Strategy, released overnight, described Trump’s vision as one of “flexible realism” and argued that the U.S. should revive the 19th century Monroe Doctrine, which declared the Western Hemisphere to be Washington’s zone of influence. It also warned that Europe faces “civilizational erasure” and must change course.

The document is the latest – and clearest – expression of Trump’s desire to shake up the post-World War Two order led by the United States and built on a network of alliances and multilateral groups, and redefine it through his “America First” lens. 

“President Trump’s foreign policy is pragmatic without being ‘pragmatist,’ realistic without being ‘realist,’ principled without being “idealistic,” muscular without being ‘hawkish,’ and restrained without being ‘dovish,'” the 29-page document says. 

“It is motivated above all by what works for America.”

The paper, which is released by every new administration and guides the work of many government agencies, said Trump would “restore American preeminence” in the Western Hemisphere and puts the region at the top of the administration’s foreign policy priorities. 

“This ‘Trump Corollary’ to the Monroe Doctrine is a common-sense and potent restoration of American power and priorities, consistent with American security interests,” the document says, suggesting that the large U.S. military build-up in the region is not temporary. 

Since taking office in January, critics have said Trump’s rhetoric evokes modern-day imperialism in the Western Hemisphere. He spoke early on, in vague terms, of retaking the Panama Canal and annexing Greenland and Canada.

More recently, the growing U.S. military presence in the Caribbean and threats of land strikes in Venezuela and in other countries where drug cartels operate have added to concerns in a region where Washington has a troubled history of military interventions.

The United States has sent more than 10,000 troops to the Caribbean, along with an aircraft carrier, warships and fighter jets. 

“The new National Security Strategy points out pretty clearly that we’re not going to go back to the way things were,” said Jason Marczak, a senior Latin America analyst with the Atlantic Council think-tank in Washington.    

The document also alludes to China’s growing economic clout in Latin America, which has been of concern to successive U.S. administrations, and the goal of countering that.

In Asia, the document said, Trump aims to deter conflict with China over Taiwan and the South China Sea by building up U.S. and allies’ military power.

“Deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority,” according to the document. 

The issue has been an irritant in U.S.-China relations for years.

But Trump has a history of unconventional foreign policy moves, making it hard to predict how this formalization of national security themes could translate into concrete actions.

EUROPE RISKS ‘CIVILISATIONAL ERASURE’ 

In the document, the administration took a dour view of its traditional allies in Europe, warning that the continent faces “civilizational erasure” and must change course if it is to remain a reliable ally for the United States.

The document is the latest in a series of statements by U.S. officials that have upended postwar assumptions about Europe’s close relationship with its strongest ally, the United States.

“Over the long term, it is more than plausible that within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European,” the document said.

Some European commentators said the document echoed talking points of far-right European political parties, which have grown to become the main opposition to governments in Germany, France and other traditional U.S. allies.

The Trump administration, the document said, wanted to restore “Western identity” in Europe. It comes as Trump has used increasingly racist rhetoric against immigrants of color in the United States.

European politicians and officials have bridled at Washington’s tone but as they hurry to rebuild their neglected militaries to meet a perceived threat from Russia, they still rely heavily on U.S. military support.

The document said it was in the United States’ strategic interest to negotiate a quick resolution in Ukraine and to re-establish “strategic stability” with Russia.

Trump has a history of making positive and admiring comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin that have long prompted criticism that he is “soft on Russia.”

Reuters reported on Friday that Washington wants Europe to take over the majority of NATO’s conventional defense capabilities, from intelligence to missiles, a tight deadline that struck some European officials as unrealistic.

Assessing how regions of the world rank under Trump’s agenda, Brad Bowman, an expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think-tank in Washington, wrote on X: “Winners in the time, resource, and attention contest?: Western Hemisphere and maybe the Pacific. Losers?: Europe. TBD?: Middle East. Africa?: Good luck…”

(Reporting by Idrees Ali, Matt Spetalnick and James Mackenzie; Additional reporting by Andrew Gray in Berlin; Editing by Don Durfee and Daniel Wallis)