Diena observer Andis Sedlenieks discusses Washington's new military doctrine in the article 'Predictable Strategy.'
“Overall, the priorities of the U.S. strategy are defined in accordance with the 'America First' concept – the main task proclaimed is dominance in the Western Hemisphere (especially emphasizing the necessity of control over the Panama Canal and Greenland). Even the containment of China has been relegated to second place.
U.S. allies in both Europe and Asia are criticized for relying on previous U.S. administrations to subsidize their defense, believing that allies should take on their own defense.
As for the point most interesting to Latvia regarding Russia, it is stated that Russia 'will remain a constant but controlled threat to the eastern NATO states in the foreseeable future.' At the same time, it is emphasized that European alliance member states are capable of taking on the primary responsibility for European conventional defense themselves. The U.S. does not intend to withdraw from the North Atlantic Alliance under this strategy, but the document clearly indicates that Washington intends to significantly reduce its membership in the alliance.
This document, like the U.S. national security strategy, is of course only a guiding principle that is quite flexible and can be substantially revised with a change of U.S. administration. However, at the same time, Europe should not count on such an opportunity, and instead of hoping to 'wait out' the Trump administration, it is finally time to fundamentally engage in the development of its collective defense.”
