“The authors quite rightly acknowledge the tremendous strides achieved in the Middle East, with the reversal of fortunes for Iran and its terrorist allies in the Arab world….Persistent attention and pressure from America, Israel, and our Arab allies will be needed to ensure that Iran never again sets the agenda in the Middle East.”

The Trump Administration's National Security Strategy (NSS), released in November 2025, is refreshingly candid, direct, and readable. These qualities contrast with many of its predecessors, which tended toward density and an encyclopedic approach to foreign affairs. This time, the Trump Administration states directly that the report will not attempt to address every foreign policy matter our nation faces, because if everything is a priority, then nothing is. Well said. 

It is also important to bear in mind that National Security Strategy documents always have multiple audiences. At its core, it is a report to Congress meant to inform the foreign affairs budgeting process. But it is also a message to the President's political base to reassure them that the Administration remains committed to the foreign policy agenda that helped get it elected in the first place. It is also a useful reminder to policymakers and the president’s advisors, who may forget presidential priorities in the midst of heated interagency debates. And, of course, foreign leaders and audiences will read the document as they seek to understand, influence, and adjust to Washington's attitude toward them.

That this NSS bears no big surprises is itself no surprise. One of President Trump's unconventionalities is his readiness to speak his mind in unvarnished ways. We have also already had nearly a year of Trump 2.0 foreign policy, so to read the NSS is to be reminded of the lived experience. Of course, any such blueprint has an aspirational element to it -- of where the Administration would like to be, not necessarily where it is. The authors quite rightly acknowledge the tremendous strides achieved in the Middle East, with the reversal of fortunes for Iran and its terrorist allies in the Arab world. However, as Trump himself acknowledged at year's end, Iran is trying to recoup its losses. Persistent attention and pressure from America, Israel, and our Arab allies will be needed to ensure that Iran never again sets the agenda in the Middle East.

Another notable feature of the 2025 NSS is the centrality it attaches to restoring America's economic competitiveness. This point is often made by presidential candidates during campaigns but then overridden by other priorities. That cannot be said of the Trump team. The President has been tireless in this regard. Unlike China, America thankfully does not have a state-driven economy, so the available tools are more limited. But no one can question the fact that Trump has used tariffs and trade promotion tools to put himself and America in the driver's seat when it comes to shaping the global economy. 

Media headlines tended to focus on the change in emphasis from great power competition with China and Russia toward advancing US interests in the Western Hemisphere. The truth is that while the "near abroad" should always be of primary concern for the United States, too many administrations have taken the neighborhood for granted. Neglect enabled a vacuum to be filled by our global competitors. But in the end, Maduro's Russian and Chinese allies could only be idle bystanders as the US took direct action. A by-product should be reassurance to those many nations that have suffered the consequences of Maduro's crimes against humanity that partnership with the US is the best bet -- for trade, investments, security, and more -- in the Hemisphere.