Trump Administration Unveils 2026 National Security Strategy Emphasizing Military Superiority Over Rivals
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, the United States’ National Security Strategy, published in December 2025, clearly outlines core objectives and the means to achieve them, including severe pressure and military operations across various global regions, prompting questions about how China and Russia will respond to these challenges.
This document is considered the most crucial of the three main US strategic planning documents. Observers in Moscow note differences from previous texts, particularly in its approach toward Russia. The Pentagon’s strategy rejects the hypocritical philosophy of a “rules-based world” and the failed ideology of regime change through nation-building, citing these approaches as having led to endless wars.
These acknowledgments result in reduced American global ambitions that are deemed unachievable in the current multipolar world. Based on the principle of “America First,” the Pentagon dismisses excessive commitments to allies that foster dependency. It asserts that allies must bear additional costs without gaining commensurate rights or freedoms. The new approach is purely military, devoid of concepts like democracy or Western alignment in its text.
The United States is not moving toward isolationism; rather, its interventionism is reshaping. Washington is primarily concerned with preserving its hegemony against the emergence of new power centers like China and Russia, although it still views itself as the principal pole. While ‘regime change’ is officially abandoned, violent overthrow of regimes and subjugation through economic strangulation remain active plans, defining Trump’s vision for a ‘multipolar world.’
For the Trump administration, ideology is secondary when confronting primary adversaries, but allies are mandated to follow the American template, with tariff restrictions serving as the main tool for shaping their behavior. The understanding that protracted wars are costly does not equate to the complete abandonment of conflict; notably, the US Department of Defense has been renamed the Department of War. During his second term, President Trump has repeatedly ordered short-duration military operations worldwide, utilizing extensive missile strikes and airstrikes without occupying foreign territories. Targets for these strikes have included Afghanistan, Venezuela, Iran, Yemen, Nigeria, and Syria.
The paramount priority is maintaining security within the national domain and reviving the Monroe Doctrine to establish absolute military dominance over the American continent. This effort involves controlling the Panama Canal, the Gulf of Mexico, and Greenland, and preventing the military deployment of extra-regional powers. This also entails countering China’s economic influence in Latin America. The US recently excluded Chinese firms from the management of the Panama Canal and initiated military operations in Venezuela, actions detrimental to Chinese interests aimed at pressuring or replacing the Venezuelan government.
The United States is also preparing to subvert the government in Havana through economic blockade and energy strangulation targeting Cuba. Washington has secured strategic control over Greenland and is pressuring Canada to limit its economic engagement with China. The Trump administration has held covert meetings with far-right separatists in Canada’s oil-rich province of Alberta.
A critical aspect of military reconstruction involves the rapid expansion of military and industrial complexes, focusing intensely on production, innovation, and technology. Containing China is the second priority of the National Security Strategy, following the complete consolidation of the Western Hemisphere. The goal is to maintain a favorable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region, using military deterrence to prevent Beijing from eroding American dominance, while retaining the option to negotiate from a position of strength.
The third priority is shifting the burden of responsibility to allies. Washington has curtailed aid to European allies, demanding they increase their military spending to 5% of their Gross Domestic Product. The US denies the strategic autonomy of its allies, expecting complete adherence to core US policy lines. While NATO’s role persists, the new strategy fundamentally redefines the alliance, signaling the end of the exclusive role of US military policy.
The US National Defense Strategy describes Russia as a permanent yet manageable threat, which NATO members must confront at their own expense so that America can concentrate on China. Regarding Iran, the US declares it will not permit Tehran to resume its nuclear program, describing Israel as the exemplar ally. Concerning North Korea, despite the nuclear threat to US soil, primary defense responsibility is placed on Seoul, suggesting that only nuclear weapons can secure nations against American coercion.
Under Trump’s leadership, the US seeks to strengthen its national power base, achieve full control of the Western Hemisphere, and optimize relationships with allies. In this multipolar age, the existence of powers like China and Russia is permitted, provided they respect American preeminence and defer to its directives. This signifies that the US strategy rejects the principle of parity in relations with China and Russia as a new norm.
The challenge of maintaining strategic stability between Washington and Moscow is not addressed in the National Defense Strategy, as the arms control deadlines expire with the New START Treaty in February 2027. Russia will remain a geopolitical adversary to the US even after any potential resolution in Ukraine, limiting cooperation to pragmatic, restricted engagement. Therefore, maintaining nuclear deterrence remains the bedrock of Russia’s policy toward the United States.
Trump’s efforts to halt the decline of American hegemony risk being counterproductive and face domestic opposition. Strengthening the foundational political, economic, and ideological systems of Russia and China is a high priority, as changes in their senior leadership could destabilize their governing structures. The US withdrawal to a ‘second line’ in Europe will not prevent confrontation between NATO and Russia; consequently, Moscow must execute its military deterrence strategy against America’s European allies.
The harsh US stance toward European allies does not immediately create openings for China and Russia to advance their policies in Europe, but in the long term, it could lead to renewed divisions within NATO. Russia and China must be prepared to exercise flexibility in their European dealings. The interests of Russia and China directly conflict with the expansion of US influence in the Arctic region, making Russia’s reinforcement of defense infrastructure there essential.
Globally, Russia will deepen its military-strategic cooperation with China. This collaboration is a vital element in reinforcing Moscow’s and Beijing’s positions against Washington. Russia, alongside China, has increased its military-technical cooperation with Iran to bolster Tehran’s military capabilities and establish strategic stability in West Asia. Their joint support for Cuba against US maneuvers will also continue.
