Trump’s new National Security Strategy shifts away from terrorism
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The Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy marks a sweeping shift in America’s defense priorities; He downplays Islamic terrorism and decades of Middle East-centered policymaking in favor of asserting U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere and treating mass immigration as the greatest national security threat.
In language different from any post-9/11 strategy document, the White House argues that the Middle East is no longer a major driver of global instability and says “the era of mass migration must end” by elevating border security and anti-cartel operations to core national defense missions.
“The days when the Middle East dominated American foreign policy in both long-range planning and day-to-day execution are thankfully over, not because the Middle East no longer matters, but because it is no longer the constant irritant and potential source of imminent disaster that it once was,” the document says.
“It is emerging more as a place of partnership, friendship and investment – a trend that should be welcomed and encouraged.”
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U.S. Southern Command released footage of a precision attack by U.S. forces on a narcotics ship operated by a designated terrorist organization in the Eastern Pacific on November 15. (US Southern Command)
The strategy introduces a “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine to prevent foreign powers from gaining influence in America and calls for the diversion of military resources from longstanding areas abroad. The original Monroe Doctrine warned European powers against intervention in the Western Hemisphere; its revival and expansion point to one of the clearest hemispheric doctrines in modern US foreign policy.
Alex Plitsas, a former Army intelligence officer, Pentagon official and current senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, questioned the strategy’s emphasis on hemispheric rather than global threats.
“The most significant threats to the United States — whether from terrorism or close rivals — are not in the Western Hemisphere, but in Africa, the Middle East, Eurasia and East Asia,” he said. Drawing attention to Russia’s stance in Europe and the increasing tension with China, he warned, “We have tried to hide behind our oceans before. This has not yet worked as a strategy.”
The move reflects a broader effort to redefine U.S. national security around hemispheric threats, immigration pressures and great power competition rather than Islamic extremism both at home and abroad.
The paper argues that instability in Latin America—from record immigration flows to cartel violence and expanding Chinese and Russian influence—now poses more direct risks to the US homeland than conflicts in the Middle East. Administration officials increasingly describe the Western Hemisphere as the “front line” of border security, supply chain reliability and geopolitical competition.
Emily Harding, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said the shift reflects the relative quiet in the Middle East but compared the region to a famous quote from “The Godfather Part III”: “You try to get out, and then it pulls you back in,” she said.
“Islamic terrorism appears to be more controlled than at any point in the last 20 years, but the Middle East has a way of holding the United States back,” he told Fox News Digital. He noted that regional crises have repeatedly derailed past administrations’ attempts to move elsewhere.
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US Army soldiers train at Assad air base. The base is located in Western Iraq. (Source: US Army)
The document, which every new White House releases to outline its thinking on security strategy, was released less than two weeks after the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., by an Afghan national, which is being investigated as a terrorist attack. On Thursday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials arrested another Afghan national who came to the United States following the 2021 withdrawal and who they said was providing support to ISIS-K. On October 31, two men were arrested for allegedly planning an ISIS-inspired Halloween attack in Michigan.
Terrorism is no longer a standalone element of strategy; instead, they are considered together with migration-related threats. The administration argues that such cases reflect failures in border security and investigations rather than evidence that Islamist terrorism remains a leading global threat.
“We want to protect this country, its people, its lands, its economy, and its way of life from military aggression and hostile external influences (such as espionage, predatory business practices, drug and human trafficking, subversive propaganda and influence operations, cultural destruction, or other threats to our nation),” the document states. “We must protect our country from invasion, not only from uncontrolled migration, but also from cross-border threats such as terrorism, drugs, espionage and human trafficking,” he continues.
Islamic terrorism is mentioned once in the document: “While we avoid long-term American presence or commitments, we must also be wary of resurgent Islamist terrorist activities in parts of Africa.”
It calls for “targeted deployments, including the use of lethal force when necessary, to secure the border and defeat the cartels.” The Pentagon has launched more than 20 naval strikes against alleged drug smugglers, and President Donald Trump is considering launching attacks on Venezuelan territory.
Plitsas warned that moving away from terrorism could carry risks. “The terrorist threat to the U.S. homeland remains; the groups and places that pose the most significant threats have changed,” he said. He pointed to ISIS-Khorasan in Central Asia and a vast Sahel region in Africa “half the size of the United States” where ISIS and al-Qaeda affiliates “operate with relative impunity.”
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Plitsas noted that policymakers may want to move away from the Middle East, but reality often intervenes. “The USA may be done with the Middle East and terrorism, but it is not done with terrorism and the Middle East,” he said. “The USA tried to withdraw several times, but with the rise of ISIS or the attack of Hamas on October 7, it retreated. The enemy has the right to say.”
Coordination with the Taliban “has done a good job of removing Al Qaeda and ISIS-K from Afghanistan,” but Plitsas echoed concerns among Middle Eastern allies: Would a U.S. withdrawal create a vacuum that terrorist groups and adversaries could exploit?
“Withdrawal of US forces would be a violation of security commitments, and adversaries like Iran will certainly fill this gap,” he said.
It remains unclear whether the administration will translate the document’s rhetoric into policy; Previous presidents have struggled to align national security strategies with real-world practices. The document does not provide any specific information regarding force posture changes.
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Although the strategy emphasizes the Western Hemisphere, it devotes several pages to China and the Indo-Pacific, the importance of domestic supply chains, and strengthening military deterrence in the South China Sea.
One of the most striking components of this is its handling of China’s expanding footprint in Latin America, Harding said. “This actually attracts China’s attention. They say that partners who choose the United States will be rewarded, while those who choose China will suffer the consequences.”
