The election of Donald Trump to a second term in the White House, and Republican control of all three branches of government, offers a unique opportunity for the US to completely re-evaluate its globalist foreign policy agenda. Trump’s administration could politically extract the elitist ‘Blob’ and shatter the military industrial complex in the process. This is the peaceful method of change that should be expected of a truly democratic state – regardless of how many political toes find themselves stepped on in the process.
But does he have the political will to really do what it takes? Some of his early appointments point towards “no” but others have at least implied that dismantling the security state is a necessity. Trump had great rhetorical moments on foreign policy, like calling the invasion of Iraq “the single worst decision ever made,” but now must follow through with real action.
The United States should reorient itself inward with an eye to the international when truly necessary. George Washington best summarized this approach in his farewell address warning against “permanent inveterate antipathies against particular Nations” or “a passionate attachment of one Nation for another,” and instead only engaging in temporary alliances under “extraordinary emergencies.” After the colossal failures of interventionism across the globe, it is time for America to come home. And in addressing America’s own issues, Trump could leave a personal legacy like literally no president before him. Here is how that is done:
End the Immediate Threat of World War 3: Negotiate with Russia, China, and Iran
Without eternal enemies, there are no forever wars. Russia, China, and Iran have all held the position of antagonist for American elites in recent years. Now, Russia and Iran are both engaged in conflicts that could spark World War 3, in Ukraine and the Middle East respectively, and there is a constant fear that China will seek to take over Taiwan; militarily or otherwise. Generally, these conflicts come down to the presence of US power in places where it has no legitimate reason to be in the first place – American hegemony generates animosity, as all empires always do.
The United States should assemble teams of legitimate diplomats concerned with establishing peace, not political operatives tied into the military industrial complex, to open immediate talks with Russia, China, and Iran at the highest levels. They should deliver a message that the US is no longer seeking a global sphere of influence and will respect the emerging regional, or multi-polar, order, and seek strong trade relations with each of these nations. It could make good on this by rolling back the various sanction regimes on the three and seeking cooperation on fulfilling the promise of Article VI of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which expects signatories to “pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.”
Permanent, emergency lines of communications between the political and military centers of each nation must also be established to mitigate crises without escalation. And, on a lighter note, tourism should be encouraged to shatter xenophobic stereotypes and establish social relations between the citizenries.
Cut the US Military Budget in Half
In 2023, the US defense budget was $858 billion. In 2024, it was $886 billion. Left unchecked, it will hit a trillion dollars. For comparison, China spent $224 billion and Russia spent $145 billion in 2024. The US has a long-storied history of wasting money on “defense” projects, which are usually just boondoggles for the military industrial complex like the 80% over budget F-35 fighter jet program. Christopher Miller, Trump’s final (acting) Defense Secretary, said in his memoir: “Our colossal military establishment was essential for our Cold War victory, but the Cold War has been over for 30 years. If we are truly going to end American adventurism and retool our military to face the challenges of the next century, we should cut military spending by 40-50 percent.” If ending adventurism really is the goal, then these preposterously exquisite weapon systems are no longer needed. A few angry generals will not get their new toys, but the American people can finally get a peace dividend. This could also begin to address the disaster of the outlandish US national debt, which now stands at $35 trillion.
Drawdown Global US Military Posture
Thomas Schelling, in his influential text Arms and Influence, explained that American soldiers stationed abroad in the Cold War, especially in Germany, were essentially bait for, and then the first signal of, a Soviet attack – if they were attacked, the world was back at war. If you take that theoretical concept and apply it to the world today, there are around 750 American bases in 80 different countries waiting to be attacked and drag the US into a conflict at any given moment. Attacks on US bases in the Middle East have risen dramatically since October 7, 2023. Beginning a global drawdown on US basing will bring troops back home to their families, inherently reduce costs, and send a message to the world that the era of American Empire is ending. Those troops are needed for the defense of the domestic, territorial, United States, particularly its southern border, not a structure of global hegemony.
Remove the United States from NATO
Transnational institutions can undermine a governments’ ability to control them “and manipulate states into adopting policies that are in the interests of an organization’s administration rather than its members.” Joining NATO, for instance, immediately yields some sovereign control over a nation’s military forces by: obliging them to respond to external problems of little “national” interest, integrating technological capabilities into a transnational structure beyond democratic input, and empowering an unelected class of transnational bureaucrats. NATO’s “long-run purpose” has always been “the hope of breaking down the barriers of national sovereignty,” which its creators blamed for the outbreak of two world wars. Article V expects members to come to the defense of one another and NATO argues there is no better way of providing collective defense. Yet, the US could rise to the defense of a foreign nation on its own terms, and form an alliance, whenever it wants – just look at Desert Storm. NATO’s outgoing chief, Jens Stoltenberg, admitted that the organization’s post-Cold War expansion is what triggered Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This dangerous Cold War relic is long overdue its retirement.
Cease the Provision of All Foreign Military “Aid”
Military “aid” has routinely caused contention at home and abroad because it points to rank hypocrisy in the publicly stated mission of US foreign policy. Most Americans want the US to stop providing military aid to Israel after how it has been used in Gaza – 43,000 dead, mostly women and children, and counting. And if America seeks the spread of democracy and freedom, why does it give a single cent to Saudi Arabia – let alone the hundreds of millions in military “aid” it has given over the years? When your foreign policy choices are so obviously duplicitous, they are left open to political attack. A principled, America first foreign policy, that refuses to pick sides in conflicts that do not concern the United States, would rebuild global confidence in brand USA.
Close the Central Intelligence Agency
The CIA inspires levels of distrust, conspiratorial discussion, and downright hatred that point to a serious problem. Intelligence agencies are routinely beyond the control of the elected government in any political system, because they can limit access to information, manipulate data in ways unlikely to be uncovered by nonexpert politicians, have access to black budgets, and are quite literally in the business of professional lying. The list of officially acknowledged scandals involving the CIA borders on the ridiculous: Operation Ajax, MK-ULTRA, the Bay of Pigs, Operation CHAOS, Iran-Contra, Operation Condor, Operation Mockingbird, Extraordinary Rendition, etc. Shuttering the CIA removes an institutionalized threat to the actual existence of democracy in the United States and helps repair foreign relations in states where it has caused havoc.
Open the Books on Black Projects and Global Covert Operations
Black projects, usually concerning hyper technical experimentation, suck untold billions of dollars out of taxpayers’ pockets and there is no real way of calculating every dollar ever wasted here. Tim Weiner estimated that somewhere in the region of $100 million per day was siphoned into the black budget between 1988-1991, thanks to Pentagon budget requests that served as cover stories for its attempts to wage “invisible wars.” Covert operations aim at the swift, violent removal of adversarial forces in the hope that killing is a better option than diplomatic negotiation. CIA Director Leon Panetta publicly argued that the drone program was the most effective weapon of the War on Terror, but Wikileaks revealed internal CIA reports showing that the agency had lost faith in the practice as Taliban leaders in Afghanistan were replaced as quickly as they were taken out. Confidence in democratic governance requires transparency – to which black projects and covert operations are simply incompatible.
Rescind the 9/11 AUMF
The Congressional authorization for the War on Terror is still active to this very day and used to justify continued global militarism. It is called the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) and says that “the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.” It is the proverbial blank check that has technically and legally, in the sense that it was an act of Congress, allowed the US to wage an endless war. The last time Congress formally declared war on a foreign country, as it is constitutionally obliged to do, was in World War II. Since then, it has just ascribed these sweeping powers to presidents and let the executive branch run amok. Trump used the AUMF to justify his assassination of Iran’s Qassem Soleimani, which sent the Islamic world into a state of uproar. Cutting this blank check in half will prevent its continued use as a legal instrument for militarism.
Close the Black Site Prison Facility at Guantanamo Bay
Dick Cheney once said the US would have to work on “the dark side … [because] that’s the world these folks operate in, and so it’s going to be vital for US to use any means at our disposal, basically, to achieve our objective.” Detainees at Guantanamo Bay and other black sites faced waterboarding, walling, and “rectal feeding,” alongside psychological torture. These methods were branded “enhanced interrogation techniques” by the Bush Administration, while research clearly demonstrates that such torture makes it “alarmingly easy” to produce false confessions. Over 800 prisoners, including boys, were taken to the camp and around 30 remain today. Obama campaigned on closing the prison camp saying “it’s been clear that the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay does not advance our national security – it undermines it … It’s counterproductive to our fight against terrorists, because they use it as propaganda in their efforts to recruit … keeping this facility open is contrary to our values.” He did not close it at any point during his eight-year term in office, and still received a Nobel Peace Prize. During his first term, Trump wanted to “load Guantanamo Bay with some bad dudes.” In his second term, Trump can right this unconstitutional wrong and shut Gitmo down.
Defend and Reinforce the Southern Border
Millions of undocumented crossings are producing a human catastrophe on the southern border. In only four years under Biden the US saw 10 million illegal crossings. Included in that total were 36,920 Chinese citizens encountered by the Border Patrol in just the last year. Nearly 80% of all Americans think the border is either in crisis or a major problem, and 57% of all Americans believe an increase in illegal migration leads to more crime. But the Biden Administration sent $175 billion to Ukraine to essentially secure its border against Russia, while the American Border Patrol suffers from a recruitment crisis and American immigration agencies and courts are enduring “chronic underfunding.” Trump has promised to deport tens of millions of people that have entered the US illegally, but unless the border is secured it is only a temporary fix. Give the American military an American purpose and use them to defend the American border.
American and Global Benefits of an America First Foreign Policy
Donald Trump has an historic opportunity to hit the reset button on American foreign policy. His presidency could reverse decades of globalized disasters by taking a deep look inwards at a nation suffering from rampant economic inequality, massive prescription and illegal drug addiction, a failing education system, and crumbling infrastructure. Despite what Trump’s pick for defense secretary might argue, the advent of woke policies is not the primary problem with the US military – its rampant history of imperial adventurism, however, certainly is. It has impoverished the American people and cast a shadow of destruction across the planet. If Trump can end this and secure a peace dividend for the American people, both America and the world will thank him.
Stuart J. Hooper is a PhD Candidate in International Politics at City St. George’s, University of London, and Senior Instructor of Political Science at Cameron University. He holds a BA from the Open University, MA in International Politics from City St. George’s, University of London, and MA in Political Science from the University of New Mexico. You can find his independent geopolitical analysis on X, YouTube, and Facebook.
