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Foreign Policy •

So This, Finally, Is the ‘Trump Doctrine’

In fact, there is evidence that Trump does. And we’re missing the point when we focus separately on his various acts of aggression toward Iran, Venezuela, or Greenland, or on Trump’s previous pledge to his MAGA base that he wouldn’t start foreign wars.Has there ever been more confusion about what a U.S. president is up to? In the days since Donald Trump launched his war of choice against Iran on Feb. 28, it’s been impossible to get a straight answer out of him or his team about what his goal is....
Foreign Policy •

So This, Finally, Is the ‘Trump Doctrine’

In fact, there is evidence that Trump does. And we’re missing the point when we focus separately on his various acts of aggression toward Iran, Venezuela, or Greenland, or on Trump’s previous pledge to his MAGA base that he wouldn’t start foreign wars.Has there ever been more confusion about what a U.S. president is up to? In the days since Donald Trump launched his war of choice against Iran on Feb. 28, it’s been impossible to get a straight answer out of him or his team about what his goal is....
Foreign Policy •

Why No One Is Pushing Back on Trump’s Iran Threats

Bush, mind you, was a staunch unilateralist who had little affection for the U.N., or Europe, or NATO. (“Preserve the myth, and laugh,” one Bush official said then of the trans-Atlantic alliance.) But Bush felt compelled to invoke international law and win over skeptics at home and abroad—who were strident, and often eloquent, in their opposition to his “preemptive” Iraq war.How much difference nearly a quarter century can make. Twenty-three years ago, then-U.S. President George W. Bush repeated...
Foreign Policy •

No, the International Community Isn’t Dead Yet

But there’s a larger lesson to be found in the extraordinary spectacle of the usually fractious Europeans standing united against the man whom many now see as the mad king of Washington—and in the sudden revolt of global markets against Trump’s behavior. The markets have since stabilized, but “Sell America” sentiment persists, an ever-present threat hovering over Trump’s “A+++++” economy.The newest conventional wisdom among the commentariat is to lament the passing of our “rules-based internatio...
Foreign Policy •

Putin Has Already Won

It has become commonplace for Western strategists to say that, no matter what he tries now, the Russian dictator will come out of his Ukraine adventure a loser. In nearly four years of horrific bloodshed, Putin has captured barely 20 percent of Ukrainian territory and failed completely in his goal of denying Ukrainians the right to statehood. Meanwhile, NATO has grown, bulking up its defenses and adding Finland and Sweden to its formidable front line.For a guy who’s lost hundreds of thousands of...
Foreign Policy •

The Wobbling of King Trump

From the triumphal arches of Constantine and Titus to the soaring St. Peter’s Basilica to the stunning Medici palaces of Florence, one sees a clear through line: a parade of giant egos down the centuries. For princes of the past—even many popes—self-glorification was the norm.For an American, touring the grandiose monuments of ancient Rome and Renaissance Italy—as I did recently—is an oddly relatable experience these days.For an American, touring the grandiose monuments of ancient Rome and Renai...
Foreign Policy •

Why the Democrats Are So Lost

“Every day gets better for us,” chortled Schumer, apparently full of vim that he wasn’t swiftly surrendering to President Donald Trump as he did to avoid a shutdown in March.As the two-week standoff over the U.S. government shutdown dragged on—imperiling hundreds of federal programs that the Democratic Party has created over the past century—the nation’s top Democrat, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, suggested at one point that he’s fairly satisfied with his party’s progress.As the two-week...
POLITICO •

The AI Doomsday Machine Is Closer to Reality Than You Think

“Admittedly, such a suggestion will generate comparisons to Dr. Strangelove’s doomsday machine, WarGames’ War Operation Plan Response, and the Terminator’s Skynet, but the prophetic imagery of these science fiction films is quickly becoming reality,” wrote Lowther and his co-author, Curtis McGiffen.What’s more, there is evidence that Russia is maintaining its own “dead hand,” a system called “Perimeter” that was developed during the Cold War and can automatically launch long-range nuclear missil...
POLITICO •

How Did the World’s Most Sophisticated Military Fall So Far Behind With Drone Warfare?

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth hosts a drone demonstration at the Pentagon on July 10, 2025. The event was hosted to demonstrate the Trump administration's initiative on Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance. | Lance Cpl. Isaac Llanez Delgado/U.S. Marine CorpsBy Michael Hirsh08/27/2025 05:00 AM EDTMichael Hirsh is the former foreign editor and chief diplomatic correspondent for Newsweek, and the former national editor for POLITICO Magazine.When the Pentagon announced a “joint interagency...
POLITICO •

The US Military Debates Possible Deployment on US Soil Under Trump

Two National Guardsmen stand guard outside a burning donut shop at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles on April 30, 1992. The National Guard was called in to aid police during the second day of rioting in the city. | Mark Elias/APBy Michael Hirsh01/12/2025 03:00 PM ESTMichael Hirsh is the former foreign editor and chief diplomatic correspondent for Newsweek, and the former national editor for POLITICO Magazine.The last time an American president deployed the U.S. mili...